Violet Dreams
by Blue Kaous
Summary: Darkness exists all around us. Though we may fight it, terminate it and alienate it, we're always surrounded. Those who give into the gifts of the darkness are vanquished and swallowed up. It takes only the most strongest of lights to shine through.
1. Chapter 1: Ruination

**July 2nd, 2010**

**Emerald Desert, Outskirts of GUN HQ Domain**

Sand and dust blew violently against the moving military vehicle, threatening to throw it into the desert sand. The sun pressed down on the fleet of GUN military vehicles. Its violently beating rays heated up ever vehicle, heating up the insides to temperatures almost hotter than the outside. Waves of heat shimmered along the black-top road, threatening to melt the rubber tires that the vehicles rode upon. If one were to choose a punishment, they'd be best off choosing hell over this desert. The desert seemed to be an oven, slowly baking its inhabitants into nothingness. But, they say from the most horrid things, come the most beautiful.

Mighty the Armadillo couldn't see the beauty in this.

"So, one of you guys have any jokes?" The black armadillo chuckled, attempting to break the silence, "You can't _all _be boring!"

In response, Mighty gained a cold glare from the guard to his left, and a quick sneer from the female guard to his right. The traveler gulped, and quickly shut up, finally giving up on his attempts at conversation. He was a prisoner after all. Though, he'd never figure out why, he knew he'd been charged. Perhaps for someone else's crime? It didn't really matter at this point, he figured, just as long as he found a way out.

But, that'd make him a fugitive then, wouldn't it?

"_Man, whatever I did to end up in this, sure must'a pissed these guys off." _Mighty thought to himself with a sigh, "_Maybe I'm being rewarded? Yeah, that's probably it. I mean, I didn't do anything against the law!"_

A wide grin spread across the armadillo's lips, as he shut his eyes, and leaned back in the three person seat, allowing the dry desert air to blow against his body.

"_Wait," _He realized, "_Why am I in cuffs then?"_

With a deep sigh, the armadillo slumped against the seat, and glared out the window. He was being taken to a high security prison out in the middle of the Emerald Desert. All he's ever tried to do was enforce justice, and all of that gave him what, a one way ticket to hell – oh, and countless threats of him being a play toy for some fat guy named Bubbles.

Delightful.

Then, his brain retraced several other possibilities. Sure, he's already theorized about them, but he could always dream. Things such as, this whole thing being a practical joke, or, maybe a super secret birthday celebration?

"_Scratch that last one," _Mighty groaned to himself, "_My birthday was last week..."_

Then, the entire vehicle bounced upwards, knocking the two guards to the right, which meant that Mighty was thrown the same direction.

Onto the female soldier.

Against her chest.

Mighty blushed, and slowly turned his attention to the anger filled expression on the face of the soldier he had made his pillow.

"Uhhh...nice day we're havin', huh?" Mighty gulped.

"Stop the vehicle!" Yelled the soldier in the passenger seat, fear lacing his words.

However, before anyone could process what had happened, a storm of flame engulfed the entire SUV. Then, a massive cloud of smoke exploded upwards above the military vehicle, throwing it into the rocky ditch beside the road. The soldiers, and Mighty, were scattered along the dusty desert floor, flaming parts of the vehicle they once occupied, now littered all around them. The remaining vehicles of the military fleet had pulled over to the side of the road, and the soldiers within had now taken position behind cover.

Mighty heard gunfire, and ongoing explosions. But everything was muffled. His eyes fluttered gently, attempting to wash away the darkness, and blurriness from his vision. He could feel sand spraying against his body occasionally, though. Finally, he felt a massive shockwave toss his body against a broken slab of cement, which was sticking out of the desert sand. The blow threatened to shatter the bones in his body. The heroic armadillo groaned in pain, and slowly he came to his senses and sat up, his head still ringing from the explosion.

He could smell smoke. Not the kind of smoke you'd smell at a bond fire – but the kind that came from burning bodies. He saw metallic figures flying through the sky at high speeds, and bursts of electrical energy engulfing soldiers one by one. His eyes flicked to the left, only to witness an entire military vehicle be hoisted into the air by some red ... creature? The vehicle was then thrown into a group of soldiers, crushing them.

Blood began to pool out from under the mess of mechanical parts.

What was going on?

"Shit, I have to get out of here..." Mighty groaned, and began to pull himself to his feet, but instantly stumbling back to the ground, "Ugh, that explosion must've busted my leg..." The armadillo moaned in pain, and dragged his body behind some rubble.

The sounds of screaming soldiers filled the air, mixing in with the deafening cracks of gun fire, and the crackling of electricity.

"Over there!" One soldier screamed, only for his entire body to be split in two by a crimson shockwave.

A swarm of silver gorilla looking creatures closed in on a group of four soldiers, but to their avail, they managed to break through with a grenade launcher. Flaming mechanical parts slid away from the soldiers, mixing in with the severed limbs and decapitated body parts. Blood stained the black top like paint, and the smell of rotting corpses under the heat filled the desert air.

It was uncertain of who attacked them, but they were winning.

A streak of metallic blue shot upwards toward an overhead attack helicopter, electricity swarming its body. Within seconds, the rotors from the aircraft had been thrown into the battlefield below – one had unfortunately skewered a soldier fleeing for his life. Flames licked the air, and crawled along the cockpit of the helicopter, when suddenly a final explosion shot outwards from the tail, a burst of electricity following right after. Standing on the smoking tail end was a navy blue figure, standing about three and a half feet tall. The only detail that could be made out, were the piercing crimson eyes.

Another burst of electricity erupted from the figures body, and finally, the helicopter erupted into a storm of fiery scrap metal that rained down upon the declining number of soldiers.

If one had to guess, there was only about twenty remaining soldiers to fight off whatever had attacked them.

A crimson blur smashed into one of the two combat ready armoured tanks in the fleet, and tossed it away like a rag doll. A blast of flame had been simultaneously released as well, engulfing the entire tank, igniting a gigantic explosion.

Black smoke and orange flames spew high into the sky from the smouldering heap of metal that was once the military tank.

Endless numbers of the gorilla looking creatures, or what had now been confirmed to be robots, slowly marched their way towards the handful of soldiers. The navy blue figure had successfully destroyed the final armoured tank with the help of the crimson figure – most likely it's ally.

Mighty pulled himself up, just enough to gain a look at the destruction before him, and glimpse at what had attacked him and his _personal guards. _All he could make out were the two high powered red and blue figures, and the silver mechs making their way to the last of the GUN soldiers. The armadillo's eyes focused in on the blue figure, as a surge of yellow and blue sparks lit up its hand.

"No way..._" _Mighty whispered in disbelief, "It can't be..."

From there on out, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The hand of the blue figure had swiftly smashed into the throat of the leading general of the fleet, severing the muscle and bone material beneath the skin, and propelling it through the sky. The rest of the fleet suffered the same death within the next five seconds. Then, plummeting from the sky in a blooding mess, came the head of the female soldier Mighty had fallen against only ten minutes before.

The fugitive traveller stared at the blank, dead eyes of the lady, and his face grew pale. He had to force himself not to vomit from the stench. Blood seeped into the sand that he had stood on, and as he pushed his body away in fear, the head rolled to the side, the face of the woman now buried in sand, and the blood clotted blonde hair laying flat on the ground.

"Mighty the Armadillo, give yourself up peacefully, and you will not be harmed, orders of Doctor Ivo Robotnik." A deep, somewhat mechanized, voice boomed, "If you fail to comply, you will be sentenced to execution. Choose wisely."

Thoughts seemed to pulverize the hero's brain. He suddenly felt nauseous, light headed, and weak. Never had he expected Doctor Robotnik to actually murder innocent people – let alone fight the military. Seconds began to feel like long, painful hours. The stinging, unbearable pain in his leg seemed to intensify. He couldn't stall for much longer, and sooner or later he'd have to give himself up.

Hey, at least this was better than being a play toy for a fat man named Bubbles. Right?

"_Yeah right." _Mighty scoffed, actually preferring to be in prison now.

"You have ten seconds." The same voice bellowed.

Mighty took in a deep breath, and thrust his body upwards, ignoring the pain in his beaten up leg.

He expected his body to be penetrated with ammunition. Or maybe his body to be sliced in two, like the soldier he had saw before. His throat seemed to ache at the memory of the final squad of soldier's beheading. Within those couple seconds, the navy figure had closed the distance of fifty meters, and tied up the hero's hands with rope – or was it steel wire?

Relief overcame the armadillo, but only for a few short seconds, when suddenly a powerful blow smashed into his cranium. His vision fell to black, and all the sounds around him turned to fading noise. The scent of burning flesh and rotting bodies faded to nothing, and then finally his consciousness slipped away.

"Squadron Alpha, return with EX001 to base with the first target." The deep voice commanded.

As if on cue, the squad of silver robots marched back a few paces, and then shot off into the sky in a coordinated flight pattern. The crimson figure made its way towards its accomplice, and roughly slung the knocked out Mighty across its shoulder, and shot off after its squad. However, the blue figure turned towards a group of ten remaining mech's, and crossed its arms.

"Squadron Beta, take up camouflage and follow energy readings to GUN HQ." The figure demanded, and then turned to a remaining five unique mechs, "And Squadron Delta, we're set to capture secondary target: Sonic the Hedgehog."

The final two groups of mechanical warriors shot off into the sky, and zipped away to their respective targets, leaving the leading figure alone amongst the massacred soldiers and destroyed military vehicles. A gust of wind blew across the barren desert road, as replaying scenarios of his past defeat played through his brain – or perhaps a better term would be _processor._

He would not be defeated again by the hands of his double. This time, he'd see the crimson blood of that worthless blue hedgehog slither down his claw. He'd watch as the hero's eyes rolled to the back of the hedgehog's head. He would finally do away with the only obstacle in his path, and at long last, accomplish his one and only goal.

To kill the world renowned hero, Sonic the Hedgehog.

**City Center, Empire City**

Everyone within the grand city of the United Federations Capital went on without a worry. Everything was satisfactory. The weather had been perfect for the start of the summer season, bringing a shining sun and a gentle breeze everyday. Rain clouds had been a rarity, and were rarely seen in the city since June.

It only helped that it was Friday; the start of the weekend. Teenagers were running in and out of outdoor shops, and sitting at ice cream shops. Groups walked through the gigantic malls scattered throughout the city, while older civilians enjoyed the summer air with convertible cars, allowing the cool breeze to blow through their vehicles. It was a big weekend for the people of the United Federation, as July 3rd was the country's birthday. Every year, the cities and communities within the Federation put on a beautiful display of fireworks, and bands played a center stage at the City Center for entertainment all day long in a gigantic festival. The entire downtown and uptown areas were decorated for the entire weekend, and parties were very common in the residential areas.

It was essentially a gigantic birthday party.

One specific individual walked along the busy sidewalk of Empire City, carrying multiple bags with designer labels etched into the material. She hummed the latest tune that vacated radio air time, and slightly shook her hips to the beat of the song playing from her iPod that had been tucked away into her purse. Yes, today was a good day for Amy Rose.

She had finished all her shopping perfectly on time, and now she was on her way for lunch with Cream and Vanilla Rabbit, and with luck, possibly run into her all time hero, and heart throb, Sonic.

The bubblegum haired teenager sighed in delight. Just thinking of the blue hero gave her butterflies. Amy quickly turned the corner, and down a small one way street that strongly resembled a quiet shopping neighbourhood in Spagonia. The young hero pulled the earbuds from her ears, and stuffed them away into her purse, taking in the relaxing folk music playing out of many of the shops she passed by. Soon enough, she had reached a small cafe situated in a tiny crescent within the neighbourhood. Flower pots hung from the rooftops, and beautifully cut shrubbery were placed around the entire building. A white tile roof hung low, with a small sign reading, "Luigi's Speciality Pasta" hung from a black rod.

From the distance, Amy could see none other than Cream and Vanilla, and quickly rushed over to them. Unloading her bags with a heavy sigh of relief, the bubblegum haired hedgehog sat down with the two rabbits, and smiled cheerfully.

"Goodmorning Vanilla! And you too Cream!" Amy chirped.

"Chao!"

"And how could I forget about you Cheese?" The pink hedgehog smiled cheerfully, shaking the small chao's hand in her thumb and index finger.

"Why hello, Amy," Vanilla greeted softly, "How has your morning been?"

"Great, miss Vanilla," The bubblegum hedgehog nodded, and took a sip of the tea the waiter had just set down, "I'm a bit concerned about Sonic though, he hasn't made any contact with any of us since Chip disappeared. I can only imagine how much that must have hurt him."

"I'm sure he'll return when the times right, Miss Rose." Vanilla assured, and smiled softly to back her words up, "After all, he's never let us down yet."

"True..." The teenager sighed, and leaned on her palm, staring out at the city streets, "I just wish he'd tell us where he was once in a while."

"Don't worry, Amy!" Cream piped up softy, "I'm sure Mister Sonic is on his way back home right now!"

A gentle breeze stirred the trees that had managed to survive in the low sun area, as leaves blew around the table gently. The quiet music continued on, as the trio began to dig into the bowls of spaghetti the waiter brought them, each of them remembering back to the times Sonic had saved the world from the antics of Doctor Eggman. He had gained celebrity status in his adventures, and Station Square even declared him a Superhero.

A gentle sigh escaped Amy, as the memories of all her friends came back. She hadn't seen Tails or Knuckles in nearly three months, and the Chaotix left for Apotos right after the Dark Gaia incident. Last she heard of them, was that they had started up a small agency to raise enough money to come back. That was two months ago.

As for Shadow and Rouge, she hadn't heard from those two since last Summer. It was if they just dropped off the face of the planet. Of course, she couldn't really expect them to be around much, working for the military and all.

Her train of thought was suddenly interrupted by the screaming of fleeing citizens. A loud explosion rocked the downtown area of Empire City, shaking the buildings themselves. Smoke billowed upwards from within the safety of the towering buildings. Peace could never remain, especially not with Eggman running about.

Maybe Sonic would return today?

Amy bounded out of her chair, and ran down the cobblestone street, down to the crowd of people at the end of the quiet neighbourhood. Some ran away screaming, while others stood in awe at whatever was wreaking havoc on the capital city. Smaller explosions began to tear apart the shops that lined the downtown area, destroying all the businesses that people depended on. Like a chain reaction, with every shop destroyed, a family was left with no money.

These are the things _heroes _stood for. To put an end to strife, and to fight for justice.

In the distance, the only visible thing through the clouds of smoke and debris were the piercing sets of red eyes destroying the city. If Sonic were to ever come back, now would be the perfect time.

Almost as if it were a scene from a movie, the gigantic screens on the central radio tower in the City Center lit up with a countdown, which was flashing against a bomb shaped like Eggmans face. The timer read twenty three hours and fifty nine seconds.

Fifty eight.

Fifty seven.

The timer continued to count down, when suddenly a video image of Doctor Robotnik flashed in front of the clock. He seemed happy – not a insane, should be sent to a mental hospital, happy, but a joy that one would find in a man who had just won the lottery.

"Greetings, Planet Earth! I, Doctor Ivo Robotnik, am treating the world known hero, Sonic, to a challenge of a life time." The doctor bellowed, showing a live broadcast of his EggCruiser hovering above the wreckage of downtown Empire City, "Every eight hours, I am going to destroy one of the capital cities of the world, and with it, I'm going to activate my newest, and most dearest creation one chaos emerald at a time."

The people of Empire City gasped. Murmurs erupted through the crowd. Some people speculated on what if Sonic didn't take the challenge, while others remained confident and traded different ideas on how the blue hero would do away with the evil Doctor Eggman this time. But Amy, the only thought in her mind was seeing her one and only hero again, after almost half a year. She watched the broadcast with a stone gaze, her heart slowly increasing its beat.

"If Sonic does not take up my challenge within the next eight hours, I will destroy all of Empire City with my latest series of robot. My dear adversary, it's about time we draw this battle to a close, and I've taken the lead to this war, my friend. If you can here this, blue rat, I suggest you hurry over to Empire City, as we all know when it comes to speed, you're not lacking." Eggman snickered, "Or maybe I need a motivational _twist_?"

The air fell silent, as the crowds whispering ceased. Maybe Eggman had stepped up his game. Was this the final battle declaration between a rivalry that had lasted for almost fifteen years?

"If you don't find me within thirty minutes, I'll level all of Empire City to the ground. My pawns have secured all roads leading in and out of the city. I suggest you hurry up, because the clock is countin-"

"Hey Egghead!"

The crowd remained silent for a few short moments, and then began to cheer. Some cheered Sonic's name, while others simply screamed out in happiness. The air had been shifted from that of despair to confidence and happiness. It was amazing how one voice could change the fate of an entire city like that. Very few people on the planet had that kind of power.

"I see you've taken my request, hedgehog!"

Amy grew still. Her heart had began beating even heavier against her chest. Her breathing quickened, and she stared at the screen with a new hope, and an overwhelming happiness...completely oblivious to the oncoming streak of metallic blue. Within the blink of an eye, a mechanical figure had swooped along the streets at supersonic speeds, and scooped Amy up.

A stream of powerful energy propelled out of the turbine on the being's back, allowing the metal figure to streak through the air at speeds that no jet fighter could match. Amy could see the smoke of the burning buildings pollute the white clouds, and from her current altitude, she saw the force that was destroying the city – a wave of Eggmans pawns.

Her mind finally jolted back to reality, and she snapped her neck to the side, to the sight of a blue blur running across the roof tops.

"Sonic!"

The long building the blue hero had been running on suddenly collapsed, but the azure hedgehog quickly bounded through the air, aimed at the menace holding Amy Rose.

This was war.

_What makes a hero a hero? The ongoing fight for justice, or the ongoing belief of righteousness?_

_Neither. For the label of hero is earned through the doings of peace. - David Gabriel, President of the United Federation, 1989_

**To be Continued**

**Authors Note~ **So, this is the glorious return of Violet Dreams. I truly believe this sister story to Congregation of the Damned will easily dwarf my other series in comparison of quality, twists, and storyline epicness. I've planned every arc of this story, and every arc of its sequels. The first five chapters are already written, but still being edited. So expect quick updates. This chapter was essentially going to be the second chapter, but I thought it'd be more suitable for an opener.

Chapter title lesson: **Ruination **(**Roo-uh-ney-shun**)–noun; the act or state of ruining or the state of being ruined.

So, I want you guys to tell me, what are you hoping to see in this resurrected series? Please also leave your theories, comments and criticism in a review, along with what you're hoping to see in a review. It's greatly appreciated.

Side notes:

First half of the chapter is loosely based off of Iron Man.

The ending quote is built around the song Hero by Nickelback

This story, and whole series, is a completely separate canon than COTD.

This was rewritten twice.

Elements of both previous versions of the Dusk series will be incorporated, along with the addition of new ideas to make Violet Dreams the story it was meant to be!

PS: Sorry for the long authors note :)


	2. Chapter 2: War, Part 1

**Violet Dreams**

**Chapter 2: War, Part 1**

_Destroy the seed of evil, or it will grow up to your ruin._

"Long time no see, Metal head!"

Powerful flares of azure light wrapped around the mechanical copy, as the blue hero snatched the captured girl from Metal's grasp, and landed safely on a smoking office building. The menacing navy blue copy of Sonic swerved through the air, leaving behind a trail of elegant purple energy from his thrusters. Electricity began to crackle around Metal's claw, ready to rip the blue hero's head right from his shoulders. Sonic gave nothing more than a confident smirk, and looked back at Amy quickly.

"Okay, Ames," He assured calmly, and smiled, "Close your eyes and count to ten, can you do that for me?"

The shell shocked pink hedgehog nodded, and closed her eyes slowly, and began to mutter a countdown under her breath. Sonic smirked and threw the young hedgehog into the sky, and dashed off towards Metal Sonic, a loud _boom _shaking the city in his wake. Cerulean energy wrapped around Sonic in a powerful display of speed, as the blue hero heaved his right arm back, uncontrolled strands of white and blue light swirling around his hand.

Five-one thousand.

Cracks echoed throughout the entire city, shattering the glass windows on the nearby buildings as each fighter ascended into speeds faster than sound. A streak of violent electricity raced through the air towards the wind wielding hedgehog. A wide grin spread over Sonic's lips, his confidence becoming unbreakable.

Six-one thousand.

While thrusting his right arm out in front of him, a powerful burst of white and blue energy exploded from his palm, and shot forwards in a spinning star of light. The star suddenly dispersed, but from its disappearance, left a burst of wind. The velocity of the resulting shockwave smashed into Metal, driving the mechanical copy back through the sky.

"Sonic...Wind!" Shouted the blue hero, just as he fell back to the building below him.

A great cyclone of energy suddenly engulfed the robotic warrior, and like a vacuum, the vortex shot the mechanical copy down towards the ground at supersonic speeds.

The blue hero stood at the edge of the building, and grinned, just as a plume of dust shot up into the air, marking the impact of his foe. However, just as Metal had hit the ground, the young hedgehog, Amy Rose, descended from the sky and into Sonic's arms, shivering in fear.

Of course, this wasn't the end of the battle. Sonic understood that.

He was more concerned on finding Amy somewhere safe.

Then again, she wasn't so worried about that.

"I coulda been killed!" The pink hedgehog shouted, "You mindless, egotistic -"

Tears began to well up in the young girls eyes, as her voice cracked. Her words began to quiver, and finally she burst into tears, sobbing against the blue hero's chest.

"You big jerk," She mumbled, "I was worried..."

A warm smile found itself on Sonic's face, as he closed his eyes and set the younger hedgehog down, and hugged the pink hero.

"Don't worry, Amy." Sonic softly assured, "I'm back now. I ain't goin' anywhere."

Interrupting the temporary peace, a massive explosion rocked the entire city, taking out the main radio tower in the centre of the downtown district. Smoke rolled through the streets, blanketing the entire area in a thick cloud of debris. Car alarms blared against the sounds of windows being shattered, and buildings tumbling to the ground. Then, none other than Eggman made himself visible – his Eggmobile armed with weapons of every kind. Beside him, Metal Sonic floated ominously in the air.

Good moments never last forever.

"I see you heard my broadcast, filthy pest." Eggman mused, stroking his orange moustache, "It's been awhile my spiny-haired friend."

"Nice to see you haven't given up on your old tricks, Doctor." Sonic smirked, and crossed his arms, "What's gotten up your ass this time? Santa give you coal for Christmas?"

The genius doctor growled in rage, and slammed his fist down on the console of his vehicle. "I've been pushed to my wits end, hedgehog!" The doctor bellowed, "This time, the world is going to be mine, and there's nothing you can do to stop me! I've created an army of the most advanced technological warriors, and I have the locations of all seven Chaos Emeralds mapped out in my emerald tracker. You've finally lost, Sonic!"

"You say that all the time, Eggy." Sonic chuckled, and walked forwards, leaving Amy behind him, "But for some reason, it never works out? You know, you're beginning to let me down, doctor." The blue hero yawned, and scratched his ear, grinning at the same time.

"We'll see what you think after you witness my new army of EX technology!"

Slowly, orange, yellow and purple began to wash away the blue in the sky, as the sun descended into the horizon. The air became warmer, and the clouds faded yellow.

"Not even GUN can stop me!" Eggman cackled, "With the new Death Egg IV, I'll reign over my new kingdom in a fortress the size of the moon!"

"Heh, you're always babbling about something new," The blue hero yawned, his smirk reappearing right after, "How about this, Eggman. Surrender now, and I won't break all your new toys."

Finally, Robotnik had been pushed to his limits. His last nerve had been stomped on. The half mad doctor slammed his hand down on the console of his hover craft once again, in turn pressing a large blue button. A wide, toothy grin spread over the doctor's face, as the sounds of emergency sirens blared throughout the entire city.

"If it's a fight you want, Sonic, then that's what you'll get!" The doctor cackled, slowly hovering upwards, "The treasures of the Echidna prophecies will finally be mine! I'll dominate this world!"

"Don't say I didn't warn ya', Egghead!"

"Metal!" Eggman snarled, "Destroy him!" The doctor scowled venomously.

Lighting up like the flames of hell, the demonic red eyes of Metal Sonic shone to life, staring at the blue hero. Electricity gracefully danced along the deadly claws of Sonic's adversary, heating the air around them. By now, the sun had set entirely past the horizon, allowing for the twilight to set in – stars beginning to twinkle in the sky.

It looked like a scene out of a storybook.

But this was no children's fairy tale.

A cocky smirk inched its way across the blue hedgehog's lips, as he poised himself to fly through the air at his enemy – maybe coming back was a good idea after all.

Hardly two seconds passed before the destined rivals shot off into the sky towards each other, ready to ultimately kill – or destroy – one another. A cocoon of blue hugged Sonic's figure, propelling him through the air at mach 2 speeds, while Metal opposed him at a rivalling velocity. Each hedgehog had their own signature attack ready at their disposal – each set to tear the other apart.

A swirling, hardly controllable, orb of white and blue energy spun violently within Sonic's palm, releasing ribbons of white behind him. To counter Sonic's affinity, was the electricity that Metal Sonic represented.

He might as well of been Zeus.

Crackling blades of blue arcs of electricity tore away from the barely visible mass of energy within Metal's claw, as it slowly began to spin out of control, heating up the atmosphere immensely.

The twins shot through the sky, and finally, met each other at a stale mate.

Each fighter through their own attack forward, pouring every ounce of power they could muster into this one attack, in hopes to destroy the other once and for all.

A sphere of light erupted around the hedgehog copies, engulfing them in a barrier of divine energy. Helixes of light shot outwards from the sphere, followed by powerful shockwaves threatening to rip apart the city. The bursts of energy smashed into office buildings, tearing apart the upper levels and throwing them into the already chaos ridden streets below. Citizens screamed and fled for safety – some had the unfortunate fate of being pulverized by falling rubble. Vehicles became mere scrap parts, as car alarms sounded through the entire downtown area.

Finally, out of the sphere of light, Sonic had been repelled into a nearby apartment building, steam rolling off his body. The blue hero groaned in pain, and fell down to a balcony below him.

Safety was always a pleasant surprise.

But that wouldn't last for long.

The sphere of light suddenly faded, revealing the ultimate copy, Metal Sonic, hovering the air. Its body hadn't even been scratched in the dynamic clash that had taken place only a couple seconds ago.

Impossible.

"The doctor really gave you a good upgrade, bucket head!" Sonic called out, his trademark grin still plastered to his face, "But I'm not even going all out yet. I'm just getting warmed up! Besides, I wouldn't wanna beat ya' into the ground so soon." The blue hero snickered, and dropped his hand down beside him, preparing another attack.

The mechanical copy in the air simply stared down at the blue hero, almost as if doubting the hedgehogs words. Metal may be a robot, but he was equipped with information processors that not even the greatest GUN scientists could construct in five years.

Doctor Eggman really was a genius.

"I think it's time we stop holding out on the tricks, and get this over with!" Sonic exclaimed, his eyes narrowing, "Besides, I've got a city to save."

"You're no match for me, pathetic hedgehog." Metal retorted, emotionless as ever.

As to be expected from an almost demonic robot.

"Oh yeah?"

Now that all traces of sunlight had faded away, and storm clouds began to roll in, the only resource of light Sonic had to rely on were either the street lights, or flashes of lightning.

Street lights weren't exactly a reliable option in a city being destroyed by a mad man.

Streaks of electricity shot through the sky, briefly lighting up the entire city, allowing for Sonic to make his move, and launch himself onto a higher rooftop. With each use of his speed, a small, rotating mass of light began to form within his hand, resembling the attack he had used to counter Metal's opening attack before. Thunder shook the entire city, adding to the echoing sounds of distant explosions and screaming civilians. Every flash of lightning provided the blue blur just enough time to get closer to Metal – but with each move to get closer, Metal began to trace the hedgehog's movements, and predict his final attack.

Metal wasn't about to go down easy.

After one last flash of lightning, the blue hero slid along an office buildings rooftop, and quickly dashed off the building, and shot through the sky. His eyes were locked onto his target, and the mass of energy in his hand was about ready to spiral out of control. He was going to end this today.

For good.

"Sonic!"

_Amy?_

For a split second, the blue hero shifted his attention over to the rooftop he had left the pink hedgehog on – only to catch a glimpse of the entire building tumbling to the ground.

"Crap!" Sonic grunted, and quickly unleashed his trump card, but using its energy to redirect his body towards the tumbling building.

Whilst bouncing off chunks of the building that had been there before, Sonic smashed through beams of metal, and blasted down slabs resembling a runway. If he didn't catch up to her now, she'd be buried under an entire building.

Sonic shook the thought from his head, and released several Sonic Winds into the masses of rock falling around him, allowing him to fall faster towards the pink hedgehog tumbling to her demise.

Chunks of rock smashed into one another, creating a more violent hell storm of debris ready to kill anyone that got in the way. However, Sonic's determination proved to be greater than the force of falling rock. The blue hero smashed through one final slab of cement, and wrapped Amy up in his arms, before finally bounding off one final chunk of debris, and rolling along the ground to safety – or rather sliding into a flaming vehicle.

Glass rained down around them, as the entire building crumbled down on itself, blocking off the entire downtown road. The blue hero grunted, and forced his body to stand, but when one smashes their head on the concrete, after falling 25 storeys, standing doesn't play out well.

Everything fell to black, leaving Sonic with his final conscious thoughts.

_That really hurt._

**Location: Unknown**

It wasn't anything that could be explained by words. Visual interpretation would fumble at its glory, but yet, it seemed all strangely familiar. Everything from the endless abyss of black, purple, blue and gold, to the white washed stone pillars. Sonic groaned, and slowly pushed himself up to his feet, finding his body suspiciously light. It was as if he was in space.

Wasn't he in Station Square?

The blue hero groggily rubbed his forehead, and looked ahead at the mass of stone pillars, and the ancient ruins lying beyond that.

Where was he?

Everything felt surreal. Time felt like it was moving at a crawling pace, and colours seemed like they were being thrown at him. He was walking as if he were stepping on clouds. His feet sunk into the darkness below him, and from beneath he heard wicked screams. It was difficult to tell what they were saying, but Sonic wasn't going to pay enough attention to figure that out.

Besides, he was too focused on the golden cage on the shrine ahead.

He felt like he's been here before.

Then, just as he was about to speak, he felt himself being pulled away. It was if someone had just plugged in a vacuum cleaner. His body was being tugged at, and he had nothing to grab onto. So he allowed himself to fall into nothingness.

* * *

"Sonic, wake up!"

That voice was familiar to him. He'd known it for a long time now, but he wasn't quite sure who it was in his current state. His mind seemed to be broken. Nothing was making sense, as the senses coming to him overloaded his brain. He felt like screaming, but the sound wouldn't come out properly. He urged to squirm, and fight the force grabbing against him, but his limbs felt like lead.

"We have to get him out of here," The voice explained, "Central City isn't safe right now. Load him up in the..."

Sonic faded out of reality once more, his senses becoming numb all over again.

**Location: Death Egg IV Launch Site, Ruin Beach**

Today was a proud day for Doctor Robotnik.

Finally, his plans of world domination were coming to bloom, and nothing could come in his way. He had captured the only intel that the heroes had for any hopes of victory, and he had acquired world control through fear in under ten hours. The time was coming for his self decided armageddon to approach.

"With the power of the Chaos Emeralds, and the research of ancient Echidna science, I'll be able to resurrect the weapon the Precursors locked away," Eggman snickered. "And then, the God of the Realm of the Dead will be mine to control! I'll be unstoppable!"

Slowly the sun had began to rise on the shore of the glorious Ruin Beach, casting its golden rays over the white stone buildings that had been forgotten in time. The water washed up against the rocks and the rubble, keeping it clean on a daily basis. The entire ocean seemed to shine in admiration to Eggmans success, as the entire world was beginning to crumble under his new army.

Back inside the base, Eggman's self victory speech had been interrupted by his top mechanical warrior, Metal Sonic.

"Give me status reports on my final two projects, Metal." Eggman snorted, sticking a cherry in his mouth.

"EX Metal Knuckles 2 is 90% complete. His computer systems and main computing network is being setup, and his DNA patch is being reworked for the reconstructed model." Metal replied monotonously.

"And what about Project Dusk?" The doctor questioned curiously.

"Progress is slow, as we're lacking proper energy sources to fully integrate the energy source into the mechanism. Once it's mainfraim has been patched, and successfully booted, everything will run at a faster rate," Metal explained, almost in an annoyed fashion. "But for now, physical make up is the limit, doctor."

"Very well." The madman grinned, "I want you to take Metal Knuckles with you when he's finished and scout out the Twilight Key. Without the keys the Echidna prophecies talk about, Project Dusk will fail."

"Yes master..." Metal responded, and turned to leave.

Once the doctor had finally failed his plans once more, Metal would take it to his own initiative and start up an utopia of his own. All he needed was the greatest power source on the planet. But for now, he'd lay low. He'd have his chance.

"_In the face of annihilation, the world has always found itself the heroes needed to protect it. But now, it's almost as if the world has gave breed to it's own protectors. We'll forever be in debt to you, Sonic the Hedgehog." ~ Lincoln McHolm, President of the United Federation, 2002_

**To Be Continued**

**Authors Note~ **I hope I was able to keep up the octane in this chapter. To me it didn't feel as great as the last...but that's just me. Yes, it's a bit shorter, but that's only because I needed to keep other things for the next chapter, which will mark the start of the invasion on Eggman's new base...sort of. We'll also check in on Mighty, and have some in depth look at the Echidna prophecies Eggman kept babbling about. Please, if you have any comments, tips or theories, leave them in a review!

PS: The quote at the end of the chapter today is from the current president in the series. I just gave him a spiffy name!


	3. Chapter 3: War, Part 2

**Violet Dreams**

**Chapter 3: War, Part 2**

_Dreams are the seedlings of reality._

**Location: Unknown**

Once more, Sonic found himself wandering the endless abyss of darkness, hopelessly making his way to the golden cage he saw so far in the distance. He felt heavier than a bag of rocks, and he thought his feet were attached to iron balls. No matter how far he walked, that goal he so desperately tried to reach seemed to get further away. The same white stone pillars passed him by countless times, and finally, the blue hero sighed, and stopped walking.

_Where am I?_

Emerald green eyes slowly flickered upwards, in order to gain a look at his surroundings above. Only a mass of gold and purple light filled his view, drifting towards a source of blackness far off in the "sky". The blue hero looked downwards, and rested his eyes on the golden cage once more, this time noticing a trail of white particles floating up into the dark void.

He was beginning to wonder if he was even on earth anymore.

Then, it happened again. His body was being sucked backwards, and dragged back into nothingness. Everything raced passed him in a flash, and finally everything went black.

* * *

**Location: Tails' Workshop**

"Sonic! Wake up!"

The blue hero's eyes flashed open immediately, allowing the rays of light to flood his vision. Everything seemed to be blurred by light for a couple seconds, but finally, his vision started to clear, and he found Tails and Amy sitting beside him. Sonic groaned dryly, and rubbed his forehead, feeling the soft bandages wrapped around his head – and a small wet spot on the side of his cranium.

"What happened...?" Sonic moaned, and leaned back in the bed, shutting his eyes again, "I feel like I was just thrown around like a rag doll."

"You were pretty beat up when I got there," Tails explained, turning around to check the hero's vitals, "But thankfully Eggman retreated from Central before he could cause anymore damage to you."

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Amy cried out, unable to hold it in any longer, "Don't you ever do that to me again, mister!"

Sonic chuckled, and moved his bandaged arm over to Amy, and rested his hand on her cheek, smiling warmly. "You worry too much, Ames." The blue hero teased, attempting to calm her down, "I'm not gonna go down by the hands of ol' Metal-head!"

Tears had started to stream down the young hedgehog's face, and finally the pink hero leapt at her idol, and embraced him in a tight hug. For the first time, Sonic didn't feel the urge to run, or push her away, but simply wrapped his arms around the sobbing Rose in a gentle embrace.

"If you ever die on me," Amy sniffed, "I'll beat you into the ground!"

The blue hero grinned, and wiped away the remaining tears from the pink hedgehog's eyes with his thumb, then nodded confidently.

"Don't worry," He assured, "The day I die, is the day the Earth stops being blue and cool like me!"

Amy slowly crawled off the hospital style bed, and returned to her chair, sniffling and wiping away stray tears, but managed to smile once again. The blue hero sighed in exhaustion and slumped back against the bed, rubbing the gash on his forehead, and stared up at the ceiling.

"What happened back there anyway?" The blue hero grumbled. "Last thing I remember is jumping off some building to catch Amy, then everything is a blank."

"Well...you hit the ground before me," Amy explained, still sniffing occasionally, "you hit your head pretty hard against a chunk of rock in the ground before you let go of me. Eggman left about five minutes after, saying something about a treasure he needed to find."

"Old Egghead's always up to something..." The blue hero moaned in annoyance, "Any idea what he's up to this time, Lil' Bro?"

Tails shook his head, and flicked on his computer screen. As the image booted up, four split screens of different locations within the United Federation showed up on the screen, showcasing the destruction that Eggman had created in each city.

"It's been the same each time he's attacked." The young fox began, "Eggman has dug a hole in the centre of each city, sent his robots into it, and left for his next target." Tails explained, bringing up another image.

This time, the screen flashed to the Mazuri Savannah, which had dozens of scenes of burnt up wild life, and forest fires. One last photo appeared on screen, showing a billowing cloud of smoke above the Great Mazuri Volcano.

"If I'm right, he's set up base in the volcano, and he's doing something pretty big in there." Tails trailed off, and turned off the screen. "The strangest thing about this whole attack, Eggman hasn't touched the Master Emerald yet."

"So, maybe that's next on his list, don't you think?" Sonic grinned, "If we can beat him to Angel Island, we might get the upper hand!"

"I don't think he's after the Master Emerald this time!" Tails exclaimed, "He hasn't came into contact with Angel Island since he activated the Eclipse Cannon! He's only been gathering the Chaos Emeralds -"

"He said something about his newest creation when he attacked Central the other day!" Amy piped up, "He said he needed the Chaos Emeralds to start it up or something like that!"

"Then we track down the Chaos Emeralds!"

"I'm afraid we can't Sonic..." Tails gulped, "My radar is showing seven high source Chaos readings in the Mazuri area – I think Eggman has them all..."

"I think it's 'bout time we pay the good Doctor a visit!" Sonic smirked, and slung his legs out of bed, "I feel like I've been in bed for a month!"

"You _have_ been unconscious for about two weeks," Tails sighed, "Eggman's done a lot of damage. The most I could do was track his moves, sorry Sonic..."

The blue hero grinned and ruffled the young hero's hair, showing the fox boy a brotherly sign of affection.

"Good job, Tails!" Sonic grinned, "Now let's see what Eggman's been up to lately!"

The blue hero jumped onto the ground, and quickly strapped his signature runners on, before racing out of the room. Tails could only smile bright and run into his workshop, Amy following close behind him. The moment the young fox had made it into the hangar, he threw off the tarp that covered his most prized creation – The Tornado 2.

It's paint shimmered in the mid-day sunlight, and it seemed to sparkle in the light. Slowly, the small fox pulled it out of the workshop, and jumped into the pilot's seat, while Amy strapped into the passenger seat behind him.

Finally, things were returning to what they used to be.

"Hurry up, Tails!" Sonic exclaimed, already speeding across the train tracks and through the tunnel to Station Square.

After pulling his flight goggles over his eyes, the young fox flipped a few switches, which started up the planes engine. Slowly the the propellor that gave the small biplane life began to spin around, until finally it looked like a singular mass of metal sitting on the front of the plane. The young fox tapped a button, and from beneath the plane, a small hitch grabbed onto a latch on the body of the Tornado, only to switch shut.

"All system's go!" Tails said out loud, a smile on his face, "Tornado 2, ready for take off!"

After pushing the control sticks forward suddenly, the latch below the plane launched forward along the run way that the fox had made out of the cliff behind his work shop. Within a matter of second, the small plane had been launched into the air, allowing it to climb through the sky, and make it's way to the city of Station Square.

Within the tunnel, Sonic sped through the darkness, spinning around the circular path – or race track in his mind – whenever a train came by. Blue energy wrapped around his body, signifying his acceleration in speed, as he began to reach the barrier of sound. Within a couple seconds, the blue hero blasted out from the other side of the tunnel, and bounded off into the open fields on the outskirts of Station Square. Overhead, the Tornado loomed in the sky, slowly descending upon Sonic.

The blue hero jumped up slightly, allowing himself the momentum to decelerate. The blue biplane drooped down beside him, and Sonic quickly spun around, allowing himself to run backwards and face the aircraft beside him.

"I'll be waiting for you at the Emerald Coast, buddy!" Sonic yelled out above the roaring winds, "Don't be too slow!"

Jumping around once more, the blue hedgehog smirked and began to speed up, a cloaking of air spiralling around his body.

"Sonic, Wait!" Tails shouted, "I can't go-"

"Hurry up, Tails!" Amy hollered, "We have to keep up with my dear Sonic!"

But before the young fox could finish his sentence, Sonic shot off through the tall green grass, a barrier of blue energy engulfing him as he ran. From a bird's eye view, one could see a plume of dust trailing two seconds behind the blue hero, only catching up to the speed demon when he slowed down just enough to change his direction, and blast off towards his destination.

Slowly the flat, endless green fields began to drop down into small valleys, and then into rolling hills. Trees could now be seen coming in larger clusters, until finally the blue hero had made his way into the Evergreen Canyon. Sonic paid no attention to the narrow pathways he raced along, but simply sped up past any speed he had ever reached, nearly clocking in at around 2500mph. The trailing cloud of dust had begun to lag behind the blue blur nearly four seconds late, as the world renown hero blasted through the sharp turns and sudden drops of the canyon. Colours flashed by in a pallet of brown and green, the tree's mending into a mass of colour.

Then, a cliff came into view.

Where a normal traveller would slow down and turn back, Sonic grinned wide and sped up, his legs turning into simple blue flashes. Within seconds, the blue hero launched into the sky, and soared through the clouds.

"Watch out Eggman!" Sonic shouted to the heavens, "I'm back in action!"

**Location: Skye Ruins**

White clouds rolled through the sky, being pushed along by the gentle breeze that brushed through the hidden valley. Birds of all kinds flew through the air above the ruins of the former civilization. One could only imagine how beautiful the place looked when it was flourishing with its inhabitants. Elegant, crystal clear streams raced through the ruins like veins to a body. Fish jumped out of the water, and splashed back into the fresh liquid that took them to their destination.

However, a single figure walked through the beautiful ruins, making their way towards the centre of the once large city of ancient warriors. It's mechanical limbs hummed quietly against the sounds of nature, as the only thing present on its computer systems was the whereabouts of its target. Small animals fled into the surrounding forestry, while others hid in the homes they had made of the broken down homes that had been abandoned for nearly five hundred years.

Metal Sonic made his way through the ruins, until finally, the central shrine came into his view, where only a lone being sat asleep on the stone steps. The mechanical doppelganger made his way towards his target, electricity sparking to life in his claws. Within his information systems, several cycles began to run through his scanners, identifying the target ahead.

Finally, his scanners locked onto a match.

A yellow mouse.

About two and half feet high.

Twenty years of age. Female.

Vessel of the Key of Strength.

He'd have to be careful around this one.

The mechanical copy began to speed up, sprinting across the quiet shrine area, his footsteps in time with the splash of water only twenty feet away, which also masked the crackling of electricity from his palm. The navy blue doppelganger launched into the sky, and descended upon the oblivious vessel in the blink of an eye, and smashed his electrified claw into the ground.

Dust spiralled into the sky from the hit, but when it had cleared, Metal had struck only the stair case.

He had missed?

But how?

Quickly flipping around the upturned rubble, the small, yellow mouse smashed her fist into Metal's torso, launching the doppelganger through the air. Activating his thrusters, Metal Sonic quickly shot back towards the shrine, descending to the ground ten feet from his target.

"Who the _hell _are you?" The small girl snarled angrily, "What gives you _any _right to come into my home, and _attack_ me!"

_Executing power reroute. Five seconds until combat AI is reset._

Metal remained silent, and simply stared down the angry mouse, which only enraged her further. The young girl growled and crossed her arms.

"Answer me!"

Flashing bright crimson, Metal's eyes flickered on, and his thrusters sparked to life, launching his body at the mouse. Electricity had started to dance around the doppelgangers claw once again, and with seconds, the robot had smashed his claw into the young mouse, and thrown the girl into the shrine.

Smoke and dust wrapped around the young mouse as she burst through the thick layers of rock, and bounced across the open field behind the shrine. Dust shot into the air after each impact, until finally the vessel smashed into the mountain side, bringing about another plume of dust.

Metal had already made his way within attacking distance, and began to close in on his target.

"Surrender quietly under the rule of Doctor Robotnik, and give up the Key." Metal announced, a slight tinge of anger evident in his voice.

"Who the _fuck _is Doctor Robotnik?" The fiery tempered girl snapped, throwing a chunk of rock the size of a small car into the river.

Water smashed along the shore line, as drops of the river water rained down on the battlefield. Metal turned his attention towards the thrown rock briefly, but returned his attention to his target almost immediately. That one little distraction was a mistake.

A big one.

Within that second, the small mouse had made her way across the field, and drove her fist into Metal's torso, launching the navy doppelganger into the sky. Leaping into the air after her opponent, the young mouse then grabbed Metal and with the momentum from her jump, she threw the mechanical copy back down through the air, and into the ground.

This wasn't going to be an easy kill.

Metal bounced off the ground once, but simply spun around in mid-air and slid along the ground on his feet, his thrusters igniting in short bursts to slow him down.

"I'll be sure to kill you slowly, Target 001." Metal announced viciously.

"Good _fucking _luck, scrap heap!"

Electricity flashed back into existence around the robot's claw once more, but this time it allowed Metal to zip through the wreckage of the field, and grab the mouse all within the blink of an eye. Slabs of rock the size of large trucks had been overturned in the field, as chunks of grass had been thrown into the air from the sheer force of the attack within Metal's claw. The mouse grew wide eyed, her entire body being catapulted into the sky.

Arcs of powerful electrical bolts shot around Metal for a short second, before he finally shot into the sky, smashing his open claw into the spine of the small mouse.

Blood splashed out of the yellow mouse, and rained down on the field below, staining the green grass in red.

The once fiery eyes of the vessel fell dull, and the final beats of her heart pounded slowly in her chest.

Metal Sonic reversed his direction, and ignited his thrusters once again, shooting down into the ground, and ultimately smashing the young girl into the already destroyed terrain. Rock and debris shot up into the sky, a crater opening up as the result of the impact.

Blood leaked from the young vessel's body, her legs had been mangled, and her face unrecognizable. The final breath of air escaped the mouse, as her body began to vanish.

White and green sparks of light slowly washed away from her body, giving way for a small sphere of green and white crystal. The small orb ceased it's glow, until finally the corpse of the mouse withered away, and the wind from the impact died down. The calm atmosphere of the shrine returned, and the life in the area went on as if nothing had happened.

However, a being began to form around the small orb of light, and slowly the sphere rose up into the air. Metal's scanners relayed the information he had acquired from the ancient Echidna texts from Eggman. If he was right, this was the true form of the Twilight Key, or otherwise it's consciousness.

White and green armour began to piece together around the sphere, forming a large being. When the light faded, it revealed a massive beast. It stood upon two muscular legs with clawed feet. It had four massive arms, with golden armour lacing its left arms. It's head was a mix between a horse and rhinoceros, as its gigantic golden horn grew from its snout. Golden battle armour slowly materialized around its head, and finally the small orb of energy settled in its chest.

Metal stood up, and looked towards the orb of energy planted in the core of the beast, his claw sparking once again.

"So this is what the doctor meant by a guardian." Metal grunted and moved to attack.

Suddenly, four massive fists crashed down into the ground, crushing Metal underneath the destructive power. Another crater formed next to the first, rocks shooting out of the ground from the sheer force of the hit. However, small sparks of energy leapt upwards along the edges of the crater, causing small pebbles to levitate into the air, signalling Metal's next attack.

A crack shot out from the fists of the beast, pushing it off guard, and allowing Metal to throw the beasts arms upwards, and launch through the air towards the open guardian. In a streak of electricity and black light, Metal tore through the chest cavity of the great guardian, and shot out through the other side, the small sphere safely tucked in his hand.

As the large guardian faded away from existence, the sphere began to gain colour – a brilliant white splash against an emerald green.

Eggman might have finally won.

"Twilight Key; acquired."

**Location: Mazuri Savannah Volcano**

The howl of the Tornado's engine echoed against the roaring winds of the desert sky. Sonic stood up inside the wing's of the small plane, ready to descend down into the volcano when his signal was given. A wide grin had been etched onto his face.

"Five seconds until we're directly over the mouth of the volcano, Sonic!" Tails shouted over the violent wind, "Ready?"

The blue hero gave a thumbs up to signal his understanding, and counted the seconds down in his head.

Clouds rushed by them in a flurry of grey and white. The moon's glow gave the entire savannah a silvery glow, as the citadel on the horizon shrunk with each passing second. The shimmering stars gave off additional light to the scene, giving the entire area a fairy tale feel.

However, the devilish red glow of the volcano contradicted the divinity of everything.

Three.

Two.

One!

Sonic smirked and bounded off the wing, causing the plane to wobble only slightly. The blue hero descended down into the mouth of the great Volcano, his body in a stream line position. Wind rushed by him, as the entire desert floor grew and expanded, showing his descent.

"Get ready to take out Eggman's arial defences, Sonic!"

Curling up into a sharp razor like ball of blue light, the blue hero shot through the night sky in a brilliant trail of cerulean light towards the first flying Egg Beetle above the volcano's entrance. The moment Sonic came into contact with the beetle, and bounced off, it erupted into a mess of flaming scrap metal and black smoke, allowing Sonic to target his next victim.

And thus, the blue hero shot down another hundred yards, once again followed by an elegant trail of azure light.

"_It takes a true hero to keep a nation secure. For security is the foundation of peace." ~ John A. Richmond, 1st President of the United Federation, 1775_

**To Be Continued**

**Authors Note~ **I'ma bringing back the Twilight Guardians! Yeehaw! I've changed the entire concept of the Guardian's a little, but I still have it set up the same way I did back in the first Dusk series. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I really wanted to show Metal's ruthlessness, and give him the power he so desperately deserves!

The next chapter we'll explore the infiltration of Eggmans base of operations, and the return of an old face you'll all love! Please leave your criticism, tips, theories and comments in a review!


	4. Chapter 4: War, Part 3

**Violet Dreams**

**Chapter 4: War, Part 3**

_War is eternity jammed into frantic minutes that will fill a lifetime with dreams and nightmares._

**Location: Inside Mazuri Savannah Volcano**

Electricity flickered through the sky, followed quickly by a massive cloud of black smoke. Scraps of silver and white metal rocketed down into the mouth of the volcano, and tumbled into the pools of magma within the rock caverns. In the sky, an azure streak of light zipped through the landscape, smashing into countless mechanical guards along his path to the titanium bridge closing the gap of the volcano.

Storms of gun fire sailed through the air around, and past Sonic, kicking up dirt and steam behind him. A trade mark grin slithered up his mouth, and he accelerated towards the ten foot tall mechanical guards. A blue whirlwind erupted in his wake, and propelled the mechs behind him into the air, while the guards in front of him stabbed their energy lances at him in attempts to stop his intrusion.

"Haha!" Sonic chuckled, "Better luck next time!"

A sonic boom echoed through the quiet and desolate area, when finally a loud whistle of air shot past the guard robots, throwing them in opposite directions. One mech slid down the inclined walls of the volcano and tumbled to its destruction – a fiery chaos of molten rock and darkness. The remaining mech slid off the side of the gigantic mountain, and into the jungle below, crushing tree's under its eight ton body construction. Sparks jumped away from its dislocated limbs, and its severed head, setting fire to the shrubbery.

Blue and white erupted around Sonic like a shell of light, shooting him faster down the runway Eggman had prepared for his new base. He looked like a shooting star descending down into the pits of hell. If he timed everything right, he'd reach the front gates to the doctor's hide out just as Eggman blocked the doorway. A wide grin spread across the blue hedgehog's face, and he sped up, his form looking like nothing more than a streak of blue to all who saw him. Colours flashed by him like a pallet of washed away paint, and light began to seep away from his vision – he was getting close.

Without not so much as a warning, the run way suddenly straightened out, and lead across a gigantic bridge across a lake of magma, and into the heart of the volcano. Massive statues had been erected on each side along the bridge, making the hide out seem more like a royal kingdom, rather than a mad man's base. Elegant spot lights shone across the bridge, lighting up the run way with an assortment of neon colours, spinning around to form Eggman's insignia. Decorated stone pillars began to replace the statues of Eggman, as the path closed off into a single strip of concrete, leading directly to the closed gateway to Eggmans base – but something was descending in front of Sonic, aimed at the doors.

The blue hero skid to a stop, and glanced upwards at the falling crimson meteor.

Who was that?

Balls of red and orange flame rocketed down from the sky, raining down inside the base, until finally a flash of scarlet shot down from the sky. Dust and smoke shot up into the air, blanketing the entire area within a thick coat of debris. Static shot off the outside of the cloud of debris, until finally a sudden gale force wind blew it away, revealing the crimson guardian, Knuckles the Echidna.

The Master Emerald guardian sneered in disgust and pulled his twin-spiked fist from the obliterated head of a Egg-Sentry guard. Flames had been alit all around him due to his previous attack, and threatened to melt down the watch towers lining the front gates. Sonic chuckled with glee and skid to a stop beside his long time friend, spraying the crimson echidna with dirt.

"Hey Knux!" Sonic chirped, patting the fuming echidna on the back, "long time no see, eh?"

With a sigh of frustration, the guardian began to stomp towards the gate of the base, "I can't believe the old maniac is at it again!" He barked, "Can't he just leave the Master Emerald and I out of it?" Knuckles growled and bashed his fists together, ready to pummel the doctor.

"You never change, huh?" Sonic moaned, rubbing his head, "Always something to do with that big rock."

"That big_ rock _your talking about has saved your blue ass countless times!" Knuckles snapped in reply whilst gritting his teeth together, "Now stop your whining and help me open this door, would'ya?"

"Let's a try a good ol' shot gun!" Sonic exclaimed, and bounded to Knuckles side, "What do you think?"

Nodding in agreement, the emerald guardian began to condense a huge amount of Chaos Energy into his fists, causing them to glow a vicious purple tinge. Sonic smirked in compliance, and then jumped high into the air, causing a slight whirlwind to blow across the ground. As he ascended, the blue hero quickly spun into a ball, as cerulean light wrapped around his form.

Just like old times.

A vortex of blue light engulfed the blue hero as he descended down towards the attack ready echidna. Wind began to swirl around the ball form of Sonic, until finally it looked as if a tornado had swallowed him up. Seconds began to slow down, as life seemed to run in slow motion. Sonic's heart beat began to feel like a bass drum smashing against his chest. His blinking seemed to feel like hours of darkness with each passing second.

Then, several rings of blue and red energy erupted around Knuckles' fist, and the spinning form of Sonic.

Ribbons of red, gold and blue energy wrapped around Sonic, and within a split second, the blue hero had been smashed into the thick titanium gate, and through to the other side. The tornado that had engulfed the hero beforehand suddenly dispersed around Knuckles the moment Sonic had come into contact with the guardian's fist. A gaping hole could now be seen in the front gates of the base, as smoke and steam trailed away from the singed metal edges.

Sonic bounced across the metal panelled flooring countless times before uncurling from his ball form, and sliding on his feet. The blue hero smirked and rubbed his head, before signalling for the echidna to follow him.

Hell was about to be unleashed on the doctor's base, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Not if Sonic and Knuckles had anything to say about it.

Alarms began to sound throughout the entire base, sending a wave of panic through the duo, it was as if they were in a famous action movie, and they were the stars. However, this was all too real for them. It was if it was their day job.

"If Eggman is the same ol' crazy scientist, then he's sure to send his lackey's after us any second now, Knucklehead." Sonic explained, beginning to speed up, "I'm gonna go catch the attention of the scraps while you find a way in!"

"Wait, Sonic!" Knuckles hollered, noticing the shadow of a gigantic mech descending upon them, "Something's coming!"

"Huh?"

A seismic tremor rippled through the ground just as a massive Egg-Sentry landed on the ground in front of the blue hero. The ground seemed to shake as if a giant had jumped on the ground. The earth began to split, as slabs of rock and metal shot upwards from the sudden disruption. Sonic yelped and tumbled through the air and slid back to Knuckles, looking as if he had just been thrown away by the Gods. The blue hedgehog quickly scampered to his feet once more, ready to take down the threat before him.

Perhaps Eggman actually meant to kill this time?

"So Egghead's got some new toys, huh?" the blue hero snickered in excitement, "Let's try 'em out, Knux!"

"I'll take care of this thing," Knuckles smirked, and cracked his neck while rotating his arms, "I haven't had a good fight lately! It's been boring while you've been gone!"

"Whatever you say, Knucklehead!" Sonic grinned, and sped off down the lit up run way, towards the gigantic entry way shaped like Eggman, "Just don't get yourself killed!" The blue hero joked, picking up speed and disappearing into the madness of the base.

"Alright, you big hunk of metal," The Emerald Guardian smirked, "Let's see what ya' got!"

The moment the words left Knuckles' mouth, the massive sentry robot had rushed forwards, pulling a battle hammer sized to its body height out and heaved it high into the air. The mech quickly threw down the mallet, attempting to crush the echidna beneath it, however, the powerful guardian quickly threw a vicious uppercut at the base of the hammer.

Sparks shot outwards from the impact, as a powerful crack shot out along the ground from the power of the collision. Static slowly crackled around the joints of the sentry robot, the tremor's created by the hit knocking out its movement systems momentarily, giving Knuckles the upper hand. Acting quickly, the crimson warrior quickly smashed his namesakes into the steel face of the hammer, and propelled himself upwards into the air above the sentry, readying a condensed amount of Chaos Energy into his fist.

As quick as the sentry possibly could manage, it swung its hammer around in order to squash Knuckles, however the crimson echidna was already in striking range.

"Dynamic Impact!"

A sudden, brutalizing force of energy erupted from Knuckles fist, and shot through the body of the sentry. A powerful explosion tore through the insides of the guard robot, only to tear it up from within, and scatter the parts of the former sentry mech along the ground.

Knuckles landed amongst the destruction, his gloves sporting small tears from the power of his attack.

"Robotnik is really losing his touch!" The Echidna mused at his strength, "That or I'm getting better!" Knuckles snickered, and made his way towards the entrance.

However, a troop of several more Egg Sentries stopped him in his tracks.

"Damn."

That was just a warm up.

**Location: Inside Main Base**

Explosions rocked the entire base, filling the massive corridors with black smoke and powerful flames. The bright neon lights flashed joyously against the blue hero's skin as he dashed down the long hallways the base provided. Long, winding guard rails lined the stair cases, allowing Sonic to grind along them, and then bound into the sky and smash into the attacking flight gifted guard robots. Scrap metal rained down on the marble stone run way, littering it with a display of destruction.

"Come out and play, Eggman!" Sonic called out, smiling, "Or are ya' scared?"

The blue hero swerved around a spiralling staircase, making his way towards the scientists main room of operations. The ceiling had opened up to a sky view, allowing the hot air of the volcano to seep in.

It was a wonder how the doctor could survive in there.

Or anyone for that matter.

Blue ribbons of light curled off the hero's body, his shell of protective cerulean energy slowly tightening around his body, and sped up, only moments of entering the final corridor. Marble pillars – each at least ten feet around – lined both sides of the corridor leading to the room at the end of the tunnel. The pillars blurred past Sonic, as he began to slow down in front of the door way ahead.

"What good would knocking do?" Sonic grinned, and gained speed once more.

A deafening _crack _bounced off the rock walls. Sonic had accelerated past the speed of sound and smashed the wide steel gates in his ball form, blowing them open with enough force to actually knock one off its hinges half way. The blue hero skid to a stop, allowing a gust of wind to blow about the room.

"Yo, Eggman!" Sonic called out, "Is this how you greet your visitors?"

"Hohoho!" The genius scientist cackled, "So you've come to _me_!"

"Nice observation, doctor." Sonic joked, "They don't call you a genius for nothin', do they?" The blue hero chuckled, and stopped in front of the scientists hovering Eggmobile.

"Silence, you pest!" Eggman snarled, "You're too late anyway! I've already configured my final project's release for ten minutes!"

"You know I can stop it by then -"

"Fool! This base was only a decoy!" The Doctor cackled, the blue hero's expression growing serious, "I've set up my launch base at the Ruin Beach in the United Federation! There's no possible way you can reach it now!"

"Why don't you just give it up, Egghead!" Sonic retorted, "I'm just gonna go and wreck your new toy anyway!"

"Oh, Sonic, Sonic." The genius scientist sighed, a wide grin on his face, "I've already won!"

A tremor shook the entire room, which shattered the windows and split the walls. Two, wide metal gates slung open against the far wall of the room, allowing two spotlights to flash on against the darkness. The Egg Insignia lights danced across the room, as Eggman turned on a loud speaker from within his Eggmobile. Smoke slowly seeped out of the open doorway, as a drum roll began to play.

The blue hero turned to gain a look at what the doctor was revealing and took a battle ready stance.

"I now introduce to you," Eggman exclaimed, laughing in his pauses, "My break through with EX technology! The next line up of Egg-Warriors!"

Two, green flashes lit up within the darkness, which was quickly followed by the lighting up of what seemed to be a circuit system of the same colour.

"Reveal yourself!" The doctor yelled viciously, "And _destroy _Sonic!"

"My, my, Doctor," Sonic snickered, "Turning into a big time villain now, huh?"

From the darkness crept a slim line, yet heavily armoured figure. It's head was a simple oval shape, with a crown with an ace of spades cast in gold stuck into it. Emerald green gems lined the golden head piece, accompanying the golden armour along it's head.

A medieval looking helmet formed around the figure's head, as slowly golden armour slid into place along the being's chest, legs and shoulders. It's body still retaining the stream line form. Suddenly, two powerful torrents of blue energy erupted from the figure's arm's, slicing open the ground slightly.

Next, twin bursts of turquoise energy exploded from two thrusters on its back, forming a pair of rippling energy formed wings.

An orange light lit up within the window like helmet, as the entire circuit lighting turned orange as well.

"Dispose of this pest, EX Ace!"

"Damn."

**Location: Holding Quarters, Below Eggman's Base**

Knuckles quickly traversed the winding paths beneath the base. Occasionally, he had to smash through waves of simple Egg-pawns, which didn't even require him to slow down. However, as Knuckles reached the next opening, he noticed a larger wave of mechs within, some large like the one he had faced outside. The echidna growled and slid through the opening, only to be surrounded by a group of four giant Egg-Sentry bots.

However, they were all sparking, and suddenly, each of them toppled over. It almost like someone had purposely destroyed them. The baffled Echidna searched the room, finding nothing but a few holding cells – one of which had an occupant.

"Mighty?" Knuckles called out, running up to the cell's bars, "What're you doing in here?"

The black armadillo blinked, and turned around in the bed he was provided. Quickly, the traveller jumped to the prison cell's steel bars, and smiled.

"Knuckles! Long time no see!" He exclaimed happily, "What brings you here?"

"Duty calls, I guess." The echidna explained, taking notice to the wounds scattered along the armadillo's body, "What happened to you?"

"Long story short, Eggman attacked me and some GUN soldi-"

Before Mighty could finish his sentence, a burst of energy smashed into the cement wall beside the cell bars, melting the rock slightly. Knuckles quickly spun around, finding a strange figure in the opening he came through.

"Surrender, and pain can be avoided."

"Who do you think you are, huh?" Knuckles barked.

Slowly, the being stepped forward.

The air grew tense.

It had the same basic black structure of the EX Ace, but more bulky and defence orientated. Heavy golden plate armour lined the droid's body, while the same combat helmet had been positioned over its head. Sitting on top of its helmet was a crown similar to the EX Ace's, but resembled that of a King. The final touch to the mech were the two massive energy cannons resting on its shoulders, one smoking from being used.

Along its arms, legs and torso, a intricate system of blue neon lighting to match the energy being expelled from its back thruster.

"I am the EX King." The Egg-Warrior greeted, almost politely, "And I've been ordered to exterminate all intruders!"

"Don't act tough, you heap of metal!" Knuckles grunted, "I'm gonna make quick work of you!"

"Wait! Knuckles! Free me first!"

And with that, a powerful beam of condensed blue energy tore along the dirt floor, nearly splitting it and revealing hell itself. Knuckles bounded off the wall behind him, and latched onto the wall to his right, avoiding the attack – Mighty dove to his bed and screamed in fear. Preparing a Deep Impact, the Emerald Guardian jumped away from the wall, purple energy spewing from his fist.

However, the EX King quickly slid backwards with a quick burst of energy, and blasted Knuckles into the ceiling.

"_We, as a nation, have managed to survive two wars. Now, we'll face the eyes of yet another, and take victory as the heroes we are meant to be!" ~ Robert McDonald, President of the United Federation, 1939_

**To be Continued**

**Authors Note~ **This actually just the start of what's to come! Once Eggman unleashes the fruits of his technology, the heroes will be out for a wild ride! I hope the quality in these chapters haven't faded in comparison to chapter 1! Please tell me if it has! Also, since I have the entire story planned out, I'll be updating fast like this quite a lot! The Dusk series will finally live up to it's glory!

Please leave your thoughts, tips, theories and comments in a review!


	5. Chapter 5: War, Part 4

**Violet Dreams**

**Chapter 5: War, Part 4**

_Violence can only be concealed by a lie, and the lie can only be maintained by violence._

**Location: Holding Quarters, Below Eggman's Base**

Chips of cement crumbled along with support beams to the ground of the holding area, and amidst the rubble, Knuckles smacked into the cement floor, groaning. Raw, turquoise energy swarmed around the charging EX King, as it's thrusters lit up with unseen intensity. Acting quickly, the crimson guardian swiftly punched the ground, accomplishing two things.

One, he managed to push himself into the air and avoid an attack from the deadly robot.

Two, with his punch, the EX King had taken a small toll of damage.

A barrage of rock spikes erupted from the ground, and launched outwards at the EX King, only temporarily stalling its attack.

"Get me outta here, Knux!" Cried Mighty, dodging falling slabs of rock, "Before I get squashed!"

Blood dripped down the guardian's arm, as he quickly threw a punch at a falling slab of rock, hoping to damage his opponent somewhat, and allow him to catch his breath. However, the EX warrior easily disposed of the projectile with a quick blast of energy from its cannons, and thus scattering debris over the room. Knuckles threw his arms over his face, guarding himself from the flying bits of rock.

This battle wasn't looking good, and it had only begun. Either Knuckles finished it off with his most powerful attack in his arsenal, and risk being buried under the collapsing base, or weaken the mech, and escape. He had to choose now, or else he'd be left with option number three.

Being killed.

Then, something bizarre took place. Everything began to shake. Not the shaking compared to an earthquake, but the rumbling that one would imagine if the Moon itself had crash landed on Earth. Larger pieces of the ceiling smashed into the floor, allowing rays of the morning sun to peek through the gaps. From the heavens fell puffs of white crystal, or better known as snow.

Wait.

_Snow?_

"Since when does it snow in July?" Knuckles grumbled in confusion, watching as the individual particles of ice gathered on the floor, "And in a Volcano?"

Something was going on, and it wasn't Eggman's old schemes of taking over the world. Whatever he was up to, it was big, and it wasn't good.

Knuckles quickly turned his attention back to the EX King, watching as it simply stopped attacking, and retreated down the halls. The emerald guardian sighed in relief, and slumped against a large chunk of rock that had sunk into the ground behind him. Being the helpful hero he was, Mighty quickly raced up to the echidna, having been freed, as his cell was obliterated by over three tons of rock.

"Let's get out of here, buddy." Mighty suggested and looked up at the sky, as snow fell down onto his face, "Maybe that talk of Global Warming is true, eh?"

With a heavy grunt, the echidna eased himself up with the help of Mighty, and proceeded with walking down the quiet corridors of Eggman's base. It was like everything just disappeared from the base and vanished.

"Eggman did this." Knuckles grunted finally, "He's doing something big, and I think it's screwing with the Earth's atmosphere..."

"Well, we can worry about that later," Mighty retorted with a sigh, "We gotta get you fixed up. That 'bot really beat'chya up."

"Thanks for reminding me." The echidna warrior sneered in pain, and clutched the massive gash in his side.

**Location: Main Control Room, Eggman's Base**

The quivering in the earth had just began to subside, when not only a great wind blew against the base, but another powerful rumbling shook the continent. It was if something beneath the earth's crust was beginning to stir, and shake the planet like its toy. The blue hero struggled to keep his balance, as the EX Ace zipped through the massive room, swiping it's crackling energy blade at Sonic with enough force to tear through a building. The pillars lining the side of the room toppled down like dominoes, and crumbled into chunks of mangled rubble.

Eggman finally made something able to scare the blue hero.

Cracks pierced the bullet proof glass that made up the windows of the main watch tower, and spread over the entire area of the glass.

"What's happening, Eggman?" Sonic yelled out, desperate for answers, "What'd you do this time?"

The evil genius cackled to himself, and snapped his fingers, which in turn called the EX Ace back to his side. With a sudden turn of events, the wind quickly died down, and the quake ceased, leaving a strange sense of calm to reign over the hero. However, from the gaps in the ceiling, came the white powder that one would find in the northern areas of the earth.

The powder that kids would slide on, and make forts out of.

It was snowing. In Mazuri!

Sonic blinked, and turned his attention to the sky, watching as the fluffy white clouds floated through the air just above the watch tower, as snow fell from the clouds and gathered around the entire region. It was as if the continent had gained a completely opposite environment.

"Alright, time to explain yourself, Doctor." Sonic announced, turning towards the chuckling scientist, "What did you do?"

"Oh, Sonic," Eggman snickered, "Quit while you're no further into the cataclysm. I'll give you one chance to back down, and maybe I'll spare you a place in my new kingdom!"

The snow had begun to fall heavier through the gaps in the building, and a slight wind had started to pick up, throwing the powder into small drifts at the side of the room. Everything had grown quiet, yet a eerie chill lingered in the air.

"Stop kidding around, Egghead!" The blue hero replied quickly, noticing the increase in snow in the room.

"If you insist, blue pest." The doctor cackled, and tapped a button on his console, allowing a massive screen to open up from the floor, projecting an image of the earth, "As you know, the earth has countless distinct environments that keep the animals that live in them alive. A number of things affect the different weather that rolls through these environments, but the key factor is their positioning on this chunk of rock you call home."

Growing impatient, Sonic crossed his arms and tapped his foot.

"Well, as you may not know, a special energy source keeps these specific weather habits in routine in the proper areas of the world, and they're stored in seven different vessels among the planet."

"Let me guess, you're manipulating these things for your own twisted use?" Sonic sighed, "Don't you ever change?"

"Shut up, and don't interrupt me!" Eggman shouted, but quickly calmed down, and cleared his throat, "Now, as I was saying...if these vessels are destroyed, it will send a disturbance in Chaos Energy through the atmosphere above that certain spot of the planet, and reverse its weather to something abnormal, which will throw the ecosystems into a downwards spiral!"

"So, in order to make your own little play land," Sonic yawned, "You're destroying the homes of billions of creatures?"

"Oh hoho!" The Doctor chuckled, "You're not as dense as I thought you to be!"

Ten foot snow drifts piled over the debris from the powerful earthquake that had taken place before, and now the entire room was covered, being turned into a white wonderland.

"Then I guess I have no _choice_ but to play along," The blue hero grinned, "I'll just smash all your new toys and turn things back!"

"Ahaha! You don't have a chance in hell of winning this time, Sonic!" Eggman sneered, "With the final touches on my Death Egg IV, and my invasion of the capitals of the world, the entire planet will be at my feet! You may be fast, but you're not fast enough to stop my reign!"

A playful grin found it's way across Sonic's muzzle.

Finally, something fun was gonna happen.

"Is that a challenge, Ro-butt-nik?"

"You'll never win, my dear pest!" Eggman cackled, and began to ascend through an opening in the watch tower, "For now, however, I must apply the final upgrades to my pride and glory. Until then, I'll keep you _very _close in my updates, hedgehog!"

As the sheets of thick metal slammed open, allowing the mad scientist to ascend to the air, and into the massive air ship above, Mighty and Knuckles had found their way into the watch tower. The blue hero gazed on at his arch nemesis, ready to take the doctor down once and for all, and end this on going war for good.

_Watch out, Doctor. This game is almost over! I'll give you the fight of a life time!_

"You just let him get away?" Knuckles growled, ready to pulverize the blue hero, "We coulda had him!"

"Chill, Knux." Sonic grinned, "He'll be back. Though, I have a feeling we're in for a bigger party than we asked for!"

"What're you talkin' about?" The black armadillo wondered, gaining the blue hero's attention.

"Mighty?" Sonic exclaimed in surprise, "Where've you been, dude?"

The lone traveller chuckled warmly, and heaved the muscular Echidna, keeping him from putting weight on his beat up leg. His own wounds had been treated by Eggman, allowing him to walk.

"Well, I did a lot of travelling, actually." He explained, "And while I was staying out in Paradise Coast, GUN came and took me away. Don't tell anyone, but I think it's cause I destroyed one of their big tanks while I was helping fend off an attack from some mad man."

"Well, it's good to have you back, man!" Sonic chirped, and fist pounded the armadillo.

"Yeah, it's great to be here," The traveler exclaimed, but his expression shifted to disgust, "I think I'm gonna be sick!"

Dropping Knuckles to the ground – and earning a string of curses – Mighty rushed over to a corner, and vomited up the small amounts of food he was fed, as images of the severed head from the GUN troops only a couple weeks earlier rushed back to him.

"Yo, Knuckles." Sonic asked, sitting beside the groaning Echidna, his grin had faded to a frown. "You saw it, right?"

The echidna grew silent, and stared at the floor, gaining a sudden interest in the blue hero's words.

Of course he did. He just didn't want to accept it.

"Yeah." The echidna replied quietly, "It's hard not to see an explosion that big."

Growing solemn, the blue hero sighed, and his trade mark grin reappeared.

"Well, whatever it is that Eggman's done," He began, and jumped to his feet, "We're gonna stop it!"

Nodding in agreement, the crimson echidna grinned and stuck out his arm, forming a fist. Knowing what the guardian was signifying, the blue hero bumped his fist against the echidna's, and chuckled.

"Let's head over to the village on the other side of the jungle," Sonic stated, looking out of the watch tower at the snow piles in the base, "Tails is waiting there. Maybe once we get back to his workshop we can figure out a battle plan! Then we can fry this Egg for good!"

With plans of ending the world, Sonic was determined to stop Eggman once and for all. He had crossed the line a _long_ time ago, and now he was going to be put in his place. Finally, the end of the war that had endured for nearly ten years was about to end, and Sonic was destined to stand in the victory. Whatever it was that Eggman was planning, Sonic had a feeling it wasn't good. The doctor had a resume of fooling around with forces beyond his control, and there was nothing stopping him this time around. Whatever was going on, Sonic would find a way to reverse it, and keep everyone safe.

He _was_ a hero after all.

**Location: Ruin Beach, Death Egg IV Launch Site**

"Metal!"

Twin blast doors slid open, allowing the metallic doppelganger to walk through, his brown cloak fluttering with each step. Glistening with unmatched divinity, the Twilight Key that Metal Sonic had acquired pulsed with unmatched power – except maybe by the Chaos Emeralds – in his claw. Bowing in front of Eggman, Metal set the small orb on the titanium sheet flooring, awaiting his next command.

"Congratulations, Metal Sonic!" The doctor shouted in glee, picking up the small orb, and examined it closely, "I see you had no trouble eradicating the vessel?"

"Negative, Doctor." The doppelganger replied, "Target proved to be of minimal threat. However, the Guardian sealed within the target was noted as a future threat to be remembered for the next vessel."

"Very well." Eggman grinned, and placed the glowing orb within his console, "One is all I need. I want you to go and scout out the whereabouts of the remaining vessels for future reference. If you must, I want you to capture them, and return alive."

The navy blue copy jotted down the commands almost instantly in his CPU, and stood up, ready to leave, when Eggman turned around once more.

"Oh, and why don't you pay Sonic a visit. He's growing to be a thorn in my side, and I want you to prioritize in destroying him first."

"Yes, _master_."

The brown cloak wavered around Metal as he continued out through the laboratory, and proceeded down the brightly lit hallways of the base. The day was finally coming, the time had arrived where he'd finally achieve the goal he was made for.

Withdrawing the cyan Chaos Emerald from his cloak, the metallic android gripped the gem in his claw, allowing the emerald's power to activate.

The eyes of Metal flashed for a short second, his AI systems activating, and his obedience chip resetting. Today was the day where he'd put an end to the blue hero, and do away with his curse forever.

Flashes of light wrapped around the metal copy, blowing the brown cloak from the intensity of the power. Ribbons of energy swirled away from the gem, and finally, a bright flash engulfed Metal in one second, and the next, he was gone, leaving the brown cloak to flutter to the ground.

It ended _today._

The rivalry would be turned to ashes.

**Location: Mazuri**

The people of the once thriving savannah village were now huddled up in their tents, each wrapped up in thick blankets provided by to them by the kind heart of Tails. White, puffy snow was of no rarity at the moment, and covered the red sands all over the continent. The trees were covered in the powder, and hardly any grass could be seen. The once green leaves had already shifted to brown, red and yellow, and fell to the ground, only to be buried by the sudden snow storm.

Knuckles sat with his back turned to Tails on a bench, occasionally groaning in pain, and tightening his fists. Tails wasted no time pulling out his self prepared first aid kit, and started patching the guardian up. The young fox slowly stitched the gash in the echidna's side together, frequently dabbing away the clotted blood with disinfectant. After wiping away the blood from the finished stitching, Tails wrapped heavy duty bandages tightly around the Echidna warriors side, earning a yelp from the guardian, and then the muttering of swears.

"Alright, your wounds should be healed up soon enough, Knuckles. Just don't over do it!" Tails calculated, and then returned to his plane and tucked the first aid kit in the air craft. "So what happened back there, Sonic?" The fox asked, his words muffled as he ruffled through some junk in the Tornado, in search of something.

"Remember the Death Egg, bud?" Sonic replied, taking a bite of a chilli dog, "Yeah, well, it's back." The blue hero explained over his chewing.

"And! The old man did something to make it snow in the middle of summer!" Mighty blurted out, and shook his fist, "We oughta beat him up for that!"

"He's using the Master Emerald for this, I just know it." Knuckles growled, and turned around to face the others, "He's up to something. And it's bad."

"Eggman made that storm?" Amy wondered, "And he's invading the cities of the world? I think that man needs a brain check!"

Sonic sighed, and closed his eyes. Wrapping his head around a situation like this was no easy task. Especially when the very fate of human life was on the edge of destruction. The blue hero finished off his favourite food, hungrily chewing and swallowing. Sighing in relief, the blue hero burped and rested on a log.

"I think the best thing we can do for now, is go back and think of some way to fight back." Tails explained, tinkering with a strange device, "Eggman has us running to stop three different threats, and we can't properly figure a plan of action like this. I've been doing research on some energy sources from the Echidna Civilization, and it seems the Chaos Emeralds weren't the only ones. It's the only explanation that I could find that could be the cause of this!"

"_A hero is no different than an ordinary man. He's just braver five minutes longer." ~ John. G. Tuscon, President of the United Federation, 1994_

**To be Continued**

**Authors Note~ **So, this is the end of the four part mini arc, and the starter to the troubles the heroes are about to face. With plans to disrupt the world's ecosystems, launch his Death Egg, and destroy the cities of the world, Eggman really means business! This was a relatively slow chapter, and I apologize. The coming chapters will lead to the main storyline of this arc, which will feature a lot of elements from the first Violet Dreams, and even a little something else! So hang tight!

If you have any theories, comments or constructive criticism, leave it in a review!


	6. Chapter 6: Ashes of the Innocent

**Violet Dreams**

**Chapter 6: Ashes of the Innocent**

_A lesson without pain is meaningless. For you cannot gain something without sacrificing something else in return._

**Location: The Egg Carrier EX, Station Square**

Sparks and small rays of light jolted away from an oval shaped casket. Pipes and rubber tubing extended from the top of the casket, and into the ceiling, while other wires and tubing connected into the metal casket from the floor. Ice plagued the glass door bolted onto the object, keeping a heavy amount of green liquid contained. Ten feet away, Doctor Eggman chuckled to himself, and continued typing in commands into the central computing system that had been connected to the _casket_. Charts and DNA strings popped up onto the screen, and finally the anatomy of a humanoid figure popped onto the screen, showing it's Chaos signatures. However, with only a few more moments, this figure would be unleashed.

The doctor continued to type away, his glasses reflecting the rows of data that appeared on the screen. Finally, two loading bars appeared on the screen, with a count down.

Eggman snickered devilishly, and directed his hover chair over to a second screen, displaying lists of life gauges for a number of his creations, and also the status of the Chaos Emeralds within his Death Egg. Yes, everything was going according to plan.

Suddenly, seven different coloured lights began to flash on the computer console.

"What!" Eggman roared.

The status bars belonging to the Death Egg, and the seven Chaos Emeralds suddenly diminished to zero, and the area around the eight bars began flashing red. After coming so close to victory, his plans were already beginning to crumble!

This had to be the work of Sonic.

As he smashed his hand onto an intercom button, he began to scream demands. "Army of the Eggman Empire! Prepare to invade Station Square!" His voice was merciless, and rage laced every word, "Leave no building standing and no square inch of the city untouched! Destroy everything!"

* * *

Powerful torrents of blue flame continuously shot outwards from the several massive thrusters equipped to the air ship. The launching haul of the airship suddenly opened, revealing endless lines of Egg Sentries. Their neon blue LED headlights flashed to life, and with one final attack order, the drones were unleashed from the sky, and onto the unsuspecting city.

Clouds dispersed from the sheer mass of mechs, as they rained down from the sky by the thousands into Station Square. Flashes of energy descended from the air ship, creating a storm of blue light. Each and every Egg Sentry activated it's weapon, and once they were only a couple hundred feet from collision, the first wave of mechs unleashed a devastating blast of compiled Chaos Energy. Twin beams of powerful energy spun around each other, creating a singular mass of light, directed at the centre of the city. Rings of white light erupted around the mass of blue, guiding its descent into the earth.

Finally a wave of smoke and dust exploded into the air from the attack. A shock wave exploded outwards from the epicentre of the impact, smashing any form of glass within two hundred kilometres, and disabling any form of electronics. Buildings caught in the immediate area of the blast were turned to rubble, and water shot up into the air from both the fire hydrants and the water lines below the city.

The pavement of the city had been destroyed, and cracked.

Vehicles were thrown into the surrounding buildings like play toys.

And the streets were littered with mangled bodies, void of any signs of life.

* * *

Smoke and steam slowly gathered around the metal casket, as the green liquid within slowly drained away. The frost lining the front glass panel began to disappear, revealing a look within. Tubes and wires quickly retracted from within the vessel, and disappeared into the ceiling, allowing the pod to slowly move to a ninety degree angle, allowing the door to swing open the moment it was unlocked. Alarms within the laboratory went off, and flashing red and yellow lights began to light up the entire room.

As the smoke settled, a loud _clang_ echoed through the room, and the next second the door to the metal casket had swung open.

Whatever remained of the liquid from before splashed onto the ground, creating small, gooey puddles.

Then, as the alarms and lights turned off, and the room fell to darkness due to energy failure, a glowing white, upside down crescent moon marking appeared on the figures chest. Electricity began to crackle around two white hot claws protruding from the hands of the unknown figure. Finally, twin emerald green eyes flashed to life within a sea of black. Then, finally, rings of golden light flashed to existence, lighting up the entire room with a brilliant glow.

"Glad to see your functioning well, Metal Knuckles!" Eggman chuckled, "Now, let's not waste any time! Get down to Station Square and assist my troops!"

A network of green lighting suddenly flashed to life all around the body of the android, and then the doppelganger itself disappeared.

**Location: Tails Workshop, Mystic Ruins**

Everyone had grown quiet, due to exhaustion and lack of things to say. However, one thing was present on all of their minds, and that was their plans to stop Eggman. Whatever the madman was intending to do, he was going to cause destruction one way or another. With three of his plans going at once, it wouldn't be easy for the heroes, and they knew that very well. Even Sonic, the energized hero of the world, was slumped against his chair, bandages wrapped around his shoulder.

The sliding door that allowed entrance to the shop suddenly slid open, allowing Tails to walk in. In his hands he was holding a small, yellow device. The young fox rounded the length of the large, oak table, and once in front of the massive computer screen, he pressed a button, allowing a hologram of earth to pop up in the centre of the table.

"I've been doing some research, and it seems Eggman is aiming at destroying the earth's atmosphere." Tails turned around to the hologram, just as a projected image of a small crystal sphere popped up, "And by using these, he's able to turn places like Mazuri into disaster areas!" A picture of a small crystal orb flashed onto the screen afterwards, as statistics lined the object.

"But for what?" Mighty grumbled, "It doesn't make sense!"

"The first great civilization of the world, the Precursors, once used an ancient power to distort the planet...maybe that's what Eggman is doing?" Tails speculated, running through information on his computer, "It says here that when Sauix, the fifth ruler of the Echidna's, used artifacts called the Twilight Keys, and when he did something happened to the planet .."

On the screen, images of ancient writings and pictures showed up, depicting several different wars and prophecies.

"There's more going on here than we think, Sonic..." Tails murmured.

**Location: Lincoln Street, Station Square**

The gigantic airship slowly floated overhead, allowing the destructive androids to fall down to the city from its insides. Above the metropolis, thick clouds of smoke and debris hung over the buildings, as the stench of burning bodies and free blood floated through the air. It was utterly revolting, yet, it was reality. A truth that GUN soldiers had to face at any given moment. They were forced to fight battles that no other could – or _would –_ and under any normal circumstances, would be forced to kill.

Crackling flames, and puffs of smoke filled the downtown area of the city. The Emerald Coast hotel had been forgotten in the eyes of destruction, and its elegant glass exterior hopelessly shattered. Dead bodies littered the streets outside, and over turned cars filled the scene. The sun had been lost in a heavy smog, as it set behind the horizon. Military boats had docked at the coast, bringing GUN reinforcements to the battle, along with heavily armoured, human controlled sentry bots. Massive, steel plated tanks rolled through the streets, ready to obliterate anything within a split second. Soldiers ran through the streets, and washed through homes and shops, attempting to save any life left in the city and evacuate.

Hell was only just beginning.

Set on top of an overturned tour bus, the infamous crimson washed jet black hedgehog watched over his fleet as they invaded the battle grounds. Scarlet eyes scanned the stationary airship for any signs of additional attack, and also anything that might prove to be an advantage. The intense energy pulsating around the black hedgehog only proved his growing content towards the doctor. It had been countless times that Eggman had destroyed – and _killed –_ to get his wish.

Today he would be stopped.

"You ready, sugar?" A calm, yet seductive, voice asked, "We're due for second wave in ten minutes."

Standing on the ground, and ready for battle, was Rouge the Bat, and despite her choice of attire, she had proved countless times she was more than ready for a fight. With a slight nod, the angered hedgehog dropped down from his look out on top of the bus, and tightened the golden rings around his wrists, ready to destroy whatever came in his way. However, he never moved.

Not an inch.

Suddenly, dust began to spiral around the central garden of the street, only to disappear. Glass began to shatter – or what was left – and car alarms began to go off. Whatever Eggman had sent down to assist the carnage, was much more powerful than GUN had anticipated.

"Rouge, don't let up your guard," Shadow explained, his eyes darting across the destruction in order to find the disturbance, "there's something here!"

"What do you mean?" Rouge panicked, her hands lighting with black sparks, "GUN's defence on the main road is impenetrable!"

"This isn't another of Eggman's cannon fodder."

Flashes of white energy suddenly tore through the ground in three slices, dividing the earth up, and uprooting chunks of rock. The bus that Shadow had once sat upon had been viciously torn apart, and a mess of scrap metal now lay in its place. Shadow and Rouge, however, had jumped into the air seconds prior, and landed behind a mass of fallen cement from the parking blockade beside them.

Shadow's heart thumped against his chest.

Another flash of light tore through the rock, forcing the GUN duo to retreat, and duck behind more reliable cover.

"What is that?" Rouge cried out, just as another flash ripped through a limousine beside her.

Within a burst of green energy, Shadow had managed to warp from the opposite side of the area, and rescue Rouge. The two reappeared on top of the main corridor of Twinkle Park, where they could figure out a plan of action. However, allowing them no time to recover, the same force shattered the panels of glass, and smashed the black hedgehog into the drainage system below. Water splashed high into the sky, allowing Shadow no chance to catch a glimpse of his attacker. Only a second had passed, and the mysterious attacker was already gone – so it seemed.

"Rouge! Get out of here and warn the troops to defend North and South exits!" Shadow barked, just as another blast of light ripped through the drainage pipes.

"But what about -"

"That's an order!" Shadow snapped.

Large, leathery black wings suddenly flapped, allowing Rouge to take off into the sky, and down the road to the rest of the troops.

However, Shadow was now alone against a force he couldn't see.

Crimson eyes darted through the square like street, only to catch a glimpse of a red flash aimed at the seductive bat. Another flash of green opened up around Shadow, and allowing no longer than a blink of an eye, he smashed his body into the unidentified attacker, forcing it into the pavement. The street exploded with a series of cracks, and chunks of cement popped upwards from the force of the hit. Shadow held onto the cold – metal – shoulders of the opposing fighter, staring into lifeless orbs of green.

"Who are you?" Shadow scowled viciously, "Or should I say, _what _are you?"

A few painfully silent seconds passed, and no response.

"Under the authority of Doctor Ivo Robotnik, surrender the Chaos Emerald in your possession," The figure demanded, no emotion present in its voice whatsoever, "and the invasion will cease. Surrender to the power of the Eggman Empire."

Whoever had the nerve to tell Shadow the hedgehog to surrender, _peacefully, _was out of their mind!

His crimson orbs never faltered from the face of the unknown fighter on top.

"Two words, scrap heap." Shadow sneered, "Piss off._"_

A sudden eruption of radiant – yet destructive – red energy swirled, and pulsated around the two fighters. Slowly it expanded, and finally two rings of light wrapped around the upper regions of the gigantic dome that had formed around Shadow. Dust blew away from the epicentre, and the water from the beach began to wash away from the shore, and crash against the current. The entire sky lit up with a brilliant, yet deathly, light. From within, the faceless figure of the loyal Eggman Empire began to wash away from the ferocious power of Shadow.

Only seconds flashed by, and the dome had faded into nothingness, and all that remained in its wake was a crater holding the ultimate life form.

Whatever had attacked him, was now destroyed.

Light suddenly flashed across the cement structure of the parking blockade.

It was just beginning.

**Location: GUN Blockade 1A, Station Square**

Sparking limbs of the attacking forces littered the grounds of the outposts. Soldiers manning laser turrets and rocket launchers sat ready, aimed on the horizon where another wave of enemy robots marched closer. Snipers had been arranged around the four way crossing, armed with Chaos Core energized rifles, able to rip apart the armour of a military tank with ease. The forces of Doctor Eggman were being tested, and brutally destroyed. However, everyone had a feeling this was just the beginning. A feeling that the pawns they had destroyed were simply cannon fodder, only there to use up their resources until the real threat came.

"Redirect defences to the north, immediately!" Rouge demanded, landing in the midst of the soldiers.

"What's going on, Rouge?" A gruff voice asked, belonging to a tall man. He was of African American background, and had a strong build. The GUN assigned uniform barely fitting him.

"Eggman's forces are coming from the north as well, Captain McDunn!" Rouge replied quickly, "Now, set up your men before Eggman's reinforcements get here!"

"Got it, Commander!"

Shouting a string of commands, McDunn directed his troops towards the north road, which lead back to Lincoln Street. Blockades were quickly set up, and weaponry replaced with ease at the new defence.

Sure enough, in the distance, another wave of devilish mechanical warriors made their way towards the troops.

"Brace yourself, men!" McDunn hollered, "We won't stand down now!"

**Location: Tails Workshop, Mystic Ruins**

"So, what you're saying is," Mighty gulped, "Eggman is trying to disturb the ecosystems for power?"

With a simple nod, Tails nodded and moved towards the hologram by his computer, and drew a small diagram, depicting the artifact known as a Twilight Key, giving off energy to a certain continent.

"If Eggman collects all seven, the planet will be left to ventilate the excess Chaos Energy, and the only way it knows how," Tails grew silent, and pulled up videos of natural disasters, "is by resetting its climates..."

"But what is he gaining by destroying the cities then?" Sonic piped up, "And what does he need with the Death Egg! He's doing something more, Tails!" The blue hero steamed, his head overloading due to the situation.

Amy looked towards her hero; she had never seen him so fired up over one of Eggman's plots. Up until now, everything the doctor did was to provide her blue hero fun and entertainment. Now, however, he was actually angry. Maybe the old rivalry of the two would end?

"I haven't quite translated the rest of the glyphs from the Echidna prophecy, but maybe once I do it will hold more information to what these Twilight Keys that keep turning up are all about." Tails replied, bringing up a news cast for Station Square, "Until then, we have bigger problems..."

A newscaster and her cameraman ran through the destruction of the streets, gunfire and yells of terror in the background. The camera suddenly fell to the ground, and the two continued running, as the camera spun around to show the two fleeing civilians get swatted away by a gigantic hammer, wielded by a heavily armoured robot.

"Come on! If Eggman's in Station Square, now's our chance to get answers!" Knuckles grunted, earning a nod of compliance from the rest of the group.

With little hesitation, the group of five heroes dashed out from the safety of the workshop.

Bad mistake.

Moments after the group had made it outside, they were stopped by the menacing red eyes of the navy blue doppelganger – Metal Sonic.

"Metal!" Sonic yelled out, his smirk returning, "Back for more, huh?"

"Greetings, my sickening copy..." Metal sneered, "You don't like to remain dead, do you?"

"What can I say?" Sonic snickered, "_I die hard_!"

"Then you're luck runs out today."

**Location: Lincoln Street, Station Square**

Tossed aside like a used, and torn rag doll, Shadow bounced across the pavement, and smashed against the Emerald Coast Hotel. Massive panels of glass fell apart and smashed against the pavement, spreading dangerous shards of glass across the road. Within one of the luxury hotel rooms, Shadow groaned and pulled himself up, his white glove stained by the pool of blood that had formed under the corpses on the elegant red carpet. He would have cared, if the entire city weren't under attack.

Then again, this wasn't a new sight for him.

Violet energy danced around his cut up arm, as the trademark three energy flashes tore through the steel foundation of the room, allowing Shadow the opportunity to jump through the debris. The upper half of the hotel slumped to the right, due to its supports being destroyed.

"Chaos Wave!"

In a chain of warps, Shadow had managed to sneak around the floating attacker, and plant his open palm against the being's cold body. A wave of purple and black energy pulsed outwards, and suddenly a shock wave blasted the attacker into the ground.

However, nothing happened. No crater, no crash, no plume of dust.

Nothing.

Shadow quickly spun around, only to catch a glimpse of a vibrating arc of blinding, white energy.

"_No matter the situation, a man labelled as a hero stands up to any amount of destruction, tyranny and malevolence." ~ Alphonse R. Truman, GUN Commander, 1967_

**To Be Continued**

**Authors Note~ **Honestly, this chapter was supposed to come a lot later in the arc. But, I kept finding things to replace this chapter, so it came sooner than expected. The battles taking place now, will not be finished, I'm sorry. But they're just teasers to the real battle coming up! And you guys will not be disappointed! I've been at work on this chapter for a long time, and I apologize for the lateness. My major influence for this chapter was "Ashes of the Innocent" by BFMV...thus the chapter title. Anyway! Leave your comments, theories and tips in a review! Hope you enjoyed!


	7. Chapter 7: Before the Damned

**Violet Dreams**

**Chapter 7: Before the Damned**

_Every act of Creation, is first of all and act of Destruction_

Metal Sonic, the most vicious creation of the mad scientist, Doctor Eggman, stood confidently in front of Sonic. Terrifying, and malevolent crimson eyes fell upon the blue wonder, contemplating his means of demise. Whatever the blue doppelganger was planning for the hero today, was surely not going to end very well. Especially after all these years of defeat. Whatever this mechanized killer was planning, would turn out to be destructive.

"Greetings, my sickening copy." Metal sneered. "You don't like to remain dead, do you?"

Everyone suddenly grew tense, the menacing words of Metal Sonic lingering in their brains. Knuckles' clenched his firsts, while Amy watched her hero intently, praying in the back of her mind that he'd overcome this threat. However, thinking of the last time they fought Metal, Tails quickly pulled out a small, yellow device, and began scanning Metal Sonic with a built in camera. Charts and rows of information that only a genius could understand popped onto the screen, which Tails let out a small grunt of shock towards.

"What can I say?" Sonic snickered defiantly, "I die hard!"

Suddenly with the ferocity to match a thunder storm, powerful torrents of electricity ignited in Metal's claw, ripping apart the ground he stood upon in the process.

"Sonic! Be careful! I just scanned Metal, and his energy readings are three times higher than last time!" Tails shouted desperately, "I think he's running off of a Chaos Emerald!"

"Don't worry buddy!"

With a triumphant look, Sonic's calm and kind demeanor twisted into that of justice and determination.

"Your luck runs out today, Sonic the Hedgehog."

**Location: Lincoln Street, Station Square**

A group of three, powerful white blasts shook the entire area. Whatever remained of the windows lining the hotel's and businesses exploded, and rained glass down onto the streets. From within a cloud of black smoke came a figure shrouded in debris, whom then smashed into the earth, creating a massive crater. Steam lingered off the battered body of Shadow the Hedgehog, as the chunks of rock and cement surrounding him sparked with white energy. His opponent, Metal Knuckles lingered in the air above for a few moments, before finally launching off through the city.

Eggman surely wasn't going to give up this time. And if he sent a creation such as Metal Knuckles to exterminate Shadow, then the doctor was after something far more important, or devastating, than the Chaos Emeralds.

A casing of green energy wrapped, and folded around the crimson robot, allowing the vicious copy to launch through the air, towards the rendezvous point that Rouge had headed to previously.

"Damn." Shadow grunted, struggling to pull himself out of the hole in the ground, "If he gets to the check point, then we'll lose our hold against the Doctor!"

The black hedgehog staggered for a moment, but using the last of his energy, the black hedgehog managed to warp, using Chaos Control. Green and white energy ignited from the Emerald in his hand, and suddenly a flash of divine light erupted from his body. From there on, his body was sucked into a space-time vortex, as his entire being shot through the space-time bridge the emerald provided.

**Location: GUN Blockade 1A, Station Square**

Flames licked the battered office buildings standing tall on all sides of the remaining soldiers of Shadow's group. Sparking, fizzling and mangled pieces of metal littered the entire battlefield, which was Station Square. Vehicles had been overturned and torn apart from the raid of Eggman's machines, but thankfully over 80% of all the civilians had been evacuated. The remaining 20% were either labeled as unknown or, undoubtedly, dead. However, what was happening in the city was just the beginning. The destruction of Station Square was leading up to something else.

Something bigger.

Rouge, and the handful of soldiers left stood strong in the face of brutality. Ash and smut covered their faces – which drove Rouge insane, due to her messed up make up – and the heat from the flames around them brought about a very uncomfortable environment. However, the soldiers of GUN we're strong, and were able to fight in any possible condition.

"Commander Rouge, look!" Captain McDunn exclaimed, fear lacing his words as he quickly armed his weapon, "Somethings coming from Lincoln Street!"

With a powerful flap of dark, leathery wings, Rouge shot upwards into the sky, where she was able to get a better look at the intruder.

Three, powerful green blasts of energy shot through the sky, and then disappeared. However, as soon as the blasts faded away, a storm of green specs shot through the sky. Rouge quickly traced the energy back to the source, who was moving at an incredible speed in their direction. Watching the threat, she quickly determined its time of arrival, and began to descend to the ground in order to warn the others, however, an arc of shimmering white energy shot through the sky, filling her vision. Though, it was unable to reach her, she gasped, as a burning sensation filled her nervous system.

Her brain seemed to slow down, as it pin pointed the location of the feeling.

A small, golf ball sized hole had been blown through her wing!

Five more of the same white bursts shot through the sky, tearing down lamp posts, traffic lights and signs. Being too caught up with the pain in her wing, and her panicked descent into the earth, Rouge failed to notice the oncoming batch of attacks, and got hit full force with the energy. A massive white explosion filled the air, and from it, Rouge fell through the sky, and hit the cement, her world suddenly fading to black as her head smashed against the pavement. Blood pooled around her. The panicked, and muffled cries of the soldiers lingered in her mind.

However, one last voice entered her consciousness before everything faded away.

"Chaos Spear!"

**Location: The Egg Carrier EX, Above Station Square**

"Ho ho ho!" Eggman chuckled victoriously, his wide, toothy grin present. "At this rate, GUN's resources will be too week to stop any other attack, and then I'll be able to commence my search for those blasted Chaos Emeralds that got away!"

The scientists fingers moved at a rapid rate of the keyboard of his main computer, as he typed in commands to activate the thrusters of his master creation – the Death Egg IV. Command prompts and status bars popped onto the screen. Eggman simply ignored these things, and continued to type in commands, this time activating five holding pods on board the Egg Carrier.

"EX Jack! EX Queen! EX King! EX Ace!" Eggman chuckled madly, and smashed his palm down onto a button, "And the EX Joker! Bring me the Chaos Emeralds!"

Five differently colored flashes of light filled the room, as the group of hunters dispersed, which caused a disruption in the ship. Monitors and lights flickered violently for a few moments, before finally returning to normal.

"Even with the set back of Project Dusk, I'll still conquer this world!" The madman cackled, his eyes gleaming against the computer screen, "From the chaos, the people will turn to me to set order! I'll rule over this world at last!"

**Location: Tails Workshop, Mystic Ruins**

Crimson met green, and the clash of the twins ignited on top of the mountain side. Metal Sonic allowed no chance for his _copy_to act, and dove straight in to attack, electricity dancing and flashing over his claw. With the intent of killing showing through his actions, the doppelganger began to infuse devastating amounts of chaos energy into his attack, causing pebbles to levitate all around them due to the magnetic nature of the electricity. Revealing no more than a simple grin, Sonic bounded upwards, attempting to dodge, and successfully counter the God-like attack from Metal. As the claw of the mecha drove into the ground, a storm of dangerously energized bolts of lightning erupted from Metal Sonic, threatening to tear out the ledge that the Workshop rested on. As the shock wave of the crash of energy smashed into Sonic, the blue hedgehog was thrown into the side of the workshop, nearly destroying an entire wall of the hangar.

"Sonic!" Amy screamed, tears brimming in her eyes. Seeing her hero get thrown around like this was never easy on her. Not when she had so much faith in him.

Chips of rock and wood fell down around the blue hero, threatening to bury him. Sonic toppled forward, and into the dirt, his body torn from the sharp edges of the wall he had been thrown into. However, with a burning confidence in his eyes, the cerulean warrior slowly pulled his body back up, and stood wearily, and faced the metallic copy. His trademark smirk remained, and even though his wounds lethal, the speed demon still found the will to fight.

The will of a hero.

"If you're going to kill me," Sonic snickered defiantly, "make sure to do it in one shot, dude!"

"You think I wouldn't have by now, if I didn't have a reason not to end your existence, flesh bag?" Metal retorted, "I want to revel in your demise, Sonic!"

"Bring it on, rust bucket!"

Igniting his thrusters to full power, Metal began to hover in the air, the viciousness of his crimson eyes locked onto Sonic. Knowing fully that if he was hit now, he'd be dead, Sonic prepared to counter his enemy, and deliver the final strike. His muscles tensed, and his body became still. A swirling mass of white energy spun around in his palm, ready to explode in a flurry of power. On the other side of the cliff side, Metal Sonic prepared a deadly strike of chaotic yellow energy in his claw, tearing up the ground around him once again.

With a powerful leap, Sonic shot off the ground into the air at blinding speeds. Within the blink of an eye, he curled into ball form and arched over the distance between him and Metal, a cocoon of light surrounding him. Pushing him through the air faster, and faster. The mass of energy that once gathered in his palm had been reconfigured to swarm his body like a protective shield of wind. Sonic shot downwards from his gained altitude, aimed directly at the metallic copy.

Metal's eyes shifted upwards at the hedgehog, his scanners able to pick up the attack several times faster than most organic beings. Two seconds passed, and Sonic had come within a few meters from Metal.

Time slowed, or so it seemed. And Sonic's heart slammed violently against his chest, seemingly moving up his throat. His body felt as light as air, and as the momentum behind his attack caught with him, a massive shock wave erupted away from the sparking collision between Sonic's homing attack, and Metal's lightning infused claw. The ground shattered, and split apart from the force, as a burst of faint blue energy shot upwards past the two hedgehogs. A massive crater swallowed up Metal Sonic, as Sonic's spinning velocity decreased, forcing him to unroll from his ball form, and jump away.

Making it only a few feet away, Metal warped through the time-space continuum, and as his particles re collided behind the blue wonder, the doppelganger conjured up a sizzling, and vicious mass of compressed energy.

Was this the end for Sonic?

The blue hero attempted to spin around, but came up too slow for the first time in his life.

In one swift movement Metal Sonic smashed the attack directly into his nemesis' gut. A ring of light shot away from the point of impact, which shot the blue hedgehog into the ground in front of the others, his stomach charred and smoking. Summoning up the same attack, Metal Sonic locked onto the hedgehog once again, his thrusters beginning to overload, allowing him to warp once more.

The deviant copy appeared only a few inches above the beaten hedgehog, allowing himself to hover as he delivered the finishing blow. Energy ruptured around the two fighters as the surging, shifting mass of electricity collided with Sonic once more. Bolts of high powered electricity shot outwards from Metal, slicing open the ground, forcing the by standing heroes to scurry out of the face of destruction. Kneeling beside his wounded _copy, _Metal Sonic flipped the smoking blue hero over, his scanners moving over his body in order to fin any signs of life.

"Heh heh." Sonic chuckled weakly, "That all you got?"

As the words left his mouth, a deadly, yet elegant flash of white and blue energy collided with the torso of Metal. Ribbons of light fluttered away from the source of the energy, as Sonic unleashed his attack, which formed a gigantic sphere of cerulean light. As the attack carried Metal up into the sky, it began to implode on itself, and once it collapsed, a flash of energy erupted outwards in a vortex. The force of the vortex shot Metal back down into the ground, forcing slabs of rock to overturn, and uproot.

Sonic grinned, his left eye half shut as he struggled to stand up. However, Knuckles, Tails and Amy aided him towards the metallic copy. "Good thing I had that bad boy ready to fire from the beginning!" Sonic exclaimed while coughing up blood, "When I first started gathering energy, I managed to compress it into my hand. Every time you attacked the amount grew, so I admit, it became harder to control. But when I used my homing attack on you, that's when I figured out how to attack you!"

As he stood over the hole that Metal had created, Sonic grinned wide. Metal simply looked upwards, his tormented body, and the same spiteful look burning into the hero.

"If I got you up into the air, where my own element is strongest, I could not only disable your ability to warp away by having the attack follow you, but keep you immobilized! You see, that attack creates five tornadoes within that sphere. Pretty cool, huh?" Sonic finished explaining, but his victory was short lived.

"**Metal! Where are you?**" Eggman's voice roared from a built in communication device within the copy, "**I need you to return to base and set up preparations! We launch in five minutes!**"

"This isn't over, hedgehog." Metal sneered.

A flash of light consumed the beaten up doppelganger, and after the light subsided, it faded away, leaving only a small radio set in its place. Tails blinked once, and jumped down into the crater to grab it, leaving Knuckles and Amy to support the blue hero. As he climbed back up, Sonic stared at the device curiously.

"Why'd he leave that behind?" Amy wondered, her mind still worried over Sonic's wounds.

"I'm not sure, but it has a timer set on it." Tails examined the device, and then turned to Sonic, "What do you think Metal came here for, anyway?"

"Something tells me it was a distraction." Knuckles piped up gruffly, his body tense, "I feel five different energy readings in this area, and they're all close to a Chaos Emerald."

"We can figure out what that radio is for later, guys." Sonic explained, and slowly allowed himself to stand. Knuckles and Amy backed away slowly, just to ensure he could walk. "For now we should focus on getting the emeralds before Doctor Ugly does!" The blue hero smirked, and turned to Tails, "What do you think, bro?"

"Right!" Tails exclaimed with an upbeat voice, "As long as we can keep the emeralds away from Eggman, he won't be able to fuel his secret weapon!"

**Location: GUN Blockade 1A, Station Square**

Continuous blasts of yellow energy shot through the air, either colliding with already destroyed office buildings, or the deadly Metal Knuckles. Having ordered all the remaining soldiers to go and back up what was left at the downtown check point, Shadow had all the room he needed to move around and attack the oncoming threat. However, Rouge proved to be a great distraction for him, as he had to worry about protecting her as well. She had managed remain conscious, but she was weak, and unable to fight. So, Shadow had carried left her in a bunker and proceeded to destroy the crimson attacker.

Although, it wasn't working too well.

"Damnit!" Shadow barked, as his Chaos Spear tore off a chunk of cement from a building, "_I'll never be able to hit him at this rate!" _He thought to himself, as he quickly flipped away from a massive white blast from Metal Knuckles.

Debris and rock smashed against him as he cartwheeled away from another with the assistance of his Air Skates. As he came to a stop, Shadow immediately shot upwards, in order to dodge yet another blast, and also to take another shot at the attacker. The black hedgehog snapped his fingers, and then flicked his wrist towards the attacking android, creating a whip like flash of energy.

"Chaos Vine!"

The whip of energy finally curled around the crimson attacker, immobilizing it. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Shadow pulled back on the rope of chaos energy, and as he did so, he infused the same amount of energy to fuel a Chaos Blast up the line, igniting the whip like mass into a gigantic explosion. From the ball of crimson and white energy Metal Knuckles smashed into a nearby building, and then ricocheted off it and smashed into the ground within the blockade.

"Shit! I can't let him get to Rouge, or else this could get bad." He snarled, and quickly warped to close the distance.

As he reappeared, Shadow lunged at the metal copy of Knuckles, and smashed a Chaos infused fist into the attackers head, crushing its sensors, and disabling its ability to see. Sparks and cracked shards of glass fell to the ground beside the two, but still fueled for destruction, Metal Knuckles unleashed the same white blast of energy as before, forcing Shadow to warp away, the Chaos Emerald in his quills shining brightly as the moment he reappeared, he unleashed a millions of small orbs of energy at the robot.

"Chaos Rampage!"

One orb smashed into the mech, stopping his approach as the orb erupted into a burst of light, then faded into smoke. Finally, the entire barrage began to collide, forcing the mech backwards, and into the wall of an office building opposite to Rouge. A massive continuous blast of light swarmed the mechanical hunter, as cracks began to slither up the tall building, and eventually split it. As the barrage of Chaos bullets ceased, Shadow warped a hundred feet away from the unmoving mech, and spun around. From his wrist, a mass of blinding red energy slithered outwards, creating a blade like shape. The sword extended twenty meters in length, and gave off powerful shimmers of energy.

As Shadow finished his spin, and faced the mech once more, the blade of Chaos Energy smashed into Metal Knuckles' body, swinging him upwards, and into another building. Dust shot outwards from the attack, and it seemed as though the ultimate life form would win. Summoning the powers of the Emerald once more, Shadow emerged from the space-time portal in front of the android, and smashed his fist, which had been dancing with red energy, into Metal Knuckles chest area. A massive indent erupted against the building, as rock and debris fell to the ground.

"Finally." Sighed the black hedgehog. His breathing had become heavy, due to the use of such a high number of Chaos based attacks. Shadow's lungs sucked in all the air he could manage, as he hovered down to rest on the ledge created from his attack.

Though, as his eyes scanned over the blockade, and the city, he noticed a small gleam of white light collide with the bunker he had left Rouge at. He wanted to warp to save her. He wanted to stop the blast.

However, it happened to quickly.

The flash of light engulfed the entire blockade, covering the entire area within a blinding, divine light. Dust stormed the streets, being pushed away by the explosion. Shadows heart began to beat fast, as he summoned up the energy to warp into the checkpoint, only one second after the explosion occurred. It took him only moments to find, and warp away to safety with a severely wounded Rouge.

**Location: Tails Workshop, Mystic Ruins**

"So it's settled, we'll all go and grab the Chaos Emerald and regroup here." Tails explained, just as a bright flash of light emerged, "Huh?"

The light pushed away the dirt, and provided enough wind to spin the water wheel in the front of the building out of control. As the light faded, Shadow stood solemnly, with the battered figure of Rouge in his arms. It was unlike Shadow to allow himself to show emotion, he didn't even realize he could feel like this. It surprised him that it took such a tragic event to trigger such sorrow.

It was the death of Maria all over again. Except, there was hope.

"We need to stabilize her!" Shadow barked, and warped inside the building, as the others followed.

His heart smashed against his chest, and his breathing became heavy. Swear gathered on his forehead as he set Rouge down on the medical bed Tails had used to patch Sonic up occasionally. Having seen the sight several times on the ARK, Shadow quickly hooked the ivory bat up to several different life recognition systems, and then stood over her with glowing hands. The black hedgehog sighed to calm his breathing, and then set his hands on her stomach gently. A glowing aura of yellow filled the room, as Tails typed a few commands into his computer, triggering life support systems in case things got worse.

Shadow grunted, and then fell backwards from energy depletion, and exhaustion. He had done everything possible, but he still had the nagging feeling it wasn't enough.

The first person since Maria that he allowed himself to befriend was being held by death himself, and he was out of ways to reclaim her.

**Location: Death Egg IV Launch Site, Ruin Beach**

The mountains surrounding the area began to tremor, causing land slides and earthquakes to shake the area. Trees toppled over into the crashing ocean nearby, and as the earth split open to allow a gargantuan metal hangar to be revealed. Within, was only the top of the massive space station that Doctor Eggman had created. Alarms sounded, and emergency lights flashed against the darkness of the night air of the beach. If one were to step onto the ground, they'd be thrown away from the uneasy feeling.

Slowly, from within the hangar, the Death Egg emerged, its thrusters destroying the entire base on its way up. The oceans tide began to avert, and waves smashed against eachother. The hangar began to collapse on itself, as the Death Egg easily floated upwards. It's anti-gravity systems, and its high powered rockets enabling it to fly. Cascading streams of liquid energy spilled off the sleek, round exterior of the Death Egg, as rocks and water mixed in with it. The wastes all collided with the water, turning the ocean front into a toxic endangerment. The Death Egg slowly climbed to higher altitudes, and within a few more minutes, it had managed to ascend into the atmosphere, lingering in the night sky like a second mood..

Gleaming lights flashed, and high powered spot lights flashed on, illuminating the entire city of Spagonia in a yellow tinge. Finally, the station had reached space, and stopped its movement in the gravitational pull of the planet.

Eggman's own face was now looking down at the planet, ready to destroy it.

"_To stand in the face of destruction not only proves a hero, but defines a man brave enough to oppose evil." ~ Fredrick S. Tillony, GUN Commander, 1989_

**To be Continued**

**Authors Note~ **Well? How was it?

This chapter is dedicated to all the lives lost in the terrorist attack of 9/11. To all of those souls lost, may God bless their families, and may he provide happiness, hope and comfort to the families who lost their loved ones on that day.

I'm sorry for the long wait, but I've been busy! This kicks off the rest of the arc, and now we delve into the main conflict! Please leave your comments, theories and tips in a review!


	8. Chapter 8: White as Snow

**Authors Note~ **_Tanuki –_ The mix breed of a Raccoon and Dog.

**Violet Dreams**

**Chapter 8: White as Snow**

****_"Destruction is mans fear of defeat."_

The smell of charred flesh, burning wood and thick smoke surrounded the entire courtyard. Majestic evergreen trees stood tall at the golden gates, welcoming everyone to the destruction inside, while also giving the place a calm, and serene feel. Elegant yet ominous flames jumped into the sky, away from the enormous blaze that had been set to a pristine mansion, which was located in the center of the courtyard. Across the entire yard, the moist, green grass and royal looking walkway had been covered with crimson splatters. Though, as Metal Sonic approached the residence, the fire within the house seemed to die, and retreat to a singular source within the massive building.

In the distance, the setting sun began to cast haunting shadows across the entire world, which also lit up the sky with a gorgeous array of pink, purple, yellow and orange. Following the disappearance of the inferno, the household began to topple due to its charred supports. Sparks fluttered outwards as the floors collapsed inside the building – Metal wasn't fazed by any of it. However, the mechanical warrior did have a goal, and that particular thing was inside the building before him. Coming into this mission, Eggman had informed him of the target, and explained the current situation – which obviously didn't turn out too well.

His target, Gantz "Nova" the Tanuki, had just infiltrated the King of Spagonia's Royal Estates and killed the entire family, due to having corrupted the financial values of the country. Gantz was one of the top hired mercenaries of Apotos' special ops, and taking advantage of the crisis of the world, it was the perfect time to strike.

Apparently he had succeeded in the mission, and would be out of the house in a short amount of time, only to meet Metal Sonic.

Everything was going just according to plan, and soon Doctor Eggman would have the next object of power he needed to succeed.

Flashing across Metal Sonic's optical sensors, a small countdown flickered into existence, marking the exact moment his target would emerge from the building. The cobalt lookalike stood attack-ready beside the statue of a warrior on a large stallion. The fearsome shadow cast by the war poised horse gave a threatening look to the sun kissed surroundings. Metal began to reroute his energy supplies towards his combat systems, preparing his Armour and thrusters for the battle to come in only five seconds.

_Four._

_Three._

Sparks shot outwards from the blazing entry way, and from within, the silhouette of a male appeared amidst the crackling flames, and slowly stepped out of the estate, his clothing completely untouched by the embers, save for the scorched edges to his black cloak.

_Two_

_One_

After moving a flaming support pillar out of his way, the being descended the stairs, and stretched his arms to the sky, oblivious to Metal.

"I swear the organization is going easy on me!" The enigmatic soldier sighed, pulling the cloak off his body. "I really gotta get me some harder missions, or I'm gonna get soft!"

The being known as Gantz was dressed in black military pants, and combat boots to match, with flames along the toe. He had two holsters on each hip, which held his dual Desert Eagles. His fur was a pale orange, with white flame like markings along his chest, neck, forearms and stomach. To match the ruby pendant around his neck, his eyes were a deep, ruby color. The long tufts of fur on his head fell down beside his eyes, and the rest were pulled back in between his ears, and kept there with a pair of goggles.

His long, orange tail swayed slightly as he began to walk towards the courtyard exit, unaware of Metal Sonic in the shadows. Sparks and small embers sparkled from his black gloves, the topaz colored crystal ring lit up around his wrists.

Turning around ever so slowly, Gantz stared at the mechanical doppelganger he had just passed, either caught off guard or shocked by his presence.

"What do we have here?" He chuckled, crossing his arms. "A toy of Doctor Robotnik?"

Within a single second, high powered thrusters jumped to life from Metal's legs and back, sliding him quickly to the right, and with another powerful blast, the mechanical beast zipped towards the tanuki with astounding speed. Letting out a grunt of surprise, Gantz rolled to the left, attempting to counter the attack as best he could, leaving only a burn mark on the tanuki's left thigh, due to the high intensity flames Metal's rockets. Spinning around in a flurry of light, Metal bounded away from the steel fencing that had been put up to line the courtyard, throwing it to the ground in a flurry of dust, and returned his assault to Gantz.

"What do you want from me, Eggheap!" The tanuki scowled and released a torrent of flame to throw him into the air. "Or are you a malfunctioned failure?'

"Under the rule of Doctor Ivo Robotniki," Metal explained, his claw suddenly lighting up with a violent light, "give up the Twilight Key in your possession or risk execution!"

"The what now?" Gantz replied, unsure of what the mechanical copy meant. "Listen, whatever it is you want, I do _not _have it! So run along and leave a man to his business!"

Staring at the luminous crimson eyes of the robot, the soldier snorted and proceeded to walk away. However, the Egg-creation wouldn't allow his escape, and charged up a massive amount of electricity in his claw and launched himself at the hybrid. Metal quickly slashed downwards at Gantz with an electrified swing, which smashed into the mercenary's shoulder and slammed him into the earth. Bursts of electricity erupted all around the fallen warrior, but, just as soon as Gantz had fallen, he managed to swing back upwards. His legs spun around in the process and kicked away the metallic soldier only briefly, allowing him to smash his fiery fist into the cobalt warrior. A plume of fire flickered away from the cold armour of Metal, scorching the entire length of the mechanical warrior's arm.

Blue flames suddenly kicked to life from the powerful thrusters along Metal's body, and seconds before another powerful attack from Gantz, the robot slid away at supersonic speeds, a streak of blue electricity following after him. Heart pounding, Gantz quickly thrust out his fist, a blazing sphere of intense flames whistled through the air, and tore into the robotic hunter, blackening the entire left side of the robot. Metal Sonic's thrusters suddenly shifted from his back, and then to his feet, boosting him high into the air in a split second, and then with another shift of power, the robot zipped downwards and grappled the soldier's shoulders. With another quick boost from his back, Metal Sonic rolled in mid air, and threw the Tanuki through the air, smashing him into the statue of the warrior on the horse.

Rock and clay began to crack and splinter, and finally the force of the hit obliterated the statue, with Gantz laying in the rubble. The soldier grumbled in pain but ,taught to fight to the end, he stood with great defiance from his muscles. Embers flickered upwards around his body, the rings around his wrists glowing brighter now as more flames formed. With a quick exchange of power from his feet to his back, Metal shot towards Gantz like a bullet, a cloud of sand erupting behind him one second after. Claws ready to strike, Metal lifted his arm upwards, electricity beginning to crackle around his entire arm, and then he swiftly brought it down.

The sharp, cold, titanium fingers of the hunter ripped into the skin of Gantz's gut, blood leaking from the impalement. As Metal quickly retracted his limb, the mercenary took the perfect opportunity to leap back through the air, and distance himself from Metal.

"Keh," Gantz spat out some blood and grinned, "That all y'got?"

A flash of light exploded from Metal Sonic, propelling him swiftly along the ground, and towards Gantz once more.

Gantz quickly rolled over top of the speeding robot and kicked him into the rubble from his impact, and as he landed on one foot, Gantz managed to jump back up and deliver a quick kick to the air, which expelled a whistling ball of intense flame. The sphere of fire smashed into the mech's left shoulder, smoldering the titanium armour, causing Metal to slide backwards.

The sound of a fuzzy radio station suddenly sounded through the area, and finally beeped as a transmission began to play. "**Metal! Don't damage the specimen too much!**" Eggmans voice bellowed, coming from the communicator implanted on Metal Sonic. "**I need him for research! Capture the target and bring him back **_**immediately**_**!"**

"What?" Gantz growled, flames sprouting around him, reacting to his anger. "I'm no _science project_!"

Attacking quickly, and ferociously, the tanuki heaved in a deep breath, then as he exhaled he let out a powerful stream of blue flame into the ground, which allowed Gantz enough propulsion to launch him into the sky, allowing for an aerial attack. Metal quickly spun around to follow the airborne fighter, and as his thrusters reignited, Gantz began to fall back down to earth with his fist wrapped with white flame. However, reacting as quickly as possible, the navy blue warrior leaned to the right, avoiding the powerful burst of flame, and then thrust his fist outwards. The bone crushing punch crashed into Gantz's cheek, knocking him from his mid-air position and into the ground. Metal Sonic took the chance to grapple the tanuki, and if he were a biological being, a grin would be plastered on his face.

"Heh, so you got some punch to ya', eh?" Gantz grinned, spitting in Metal's optical sensors. "Better act fast, cause I have ya' right where I want!"

Grasping Metal Sonic's arms, Gantz began to snicker quietly, smoke tumbling away from the ground as the dirt itself started to burn, and then the same happened with the titanium exterior of his opponent. Suddenly embers began to flicker up into the sky, soon followed by massive pillars of vicious fire. With the intensity of the sun, Gantz's wrist cuffs lit up, which brought forth a sudden explosion of powerful, flaming energy.

However, as the blast erupted, Metal Sonic activated the powers of the Chaos Emerald within his body, and warped away in a flash of brilliant green and white light, taking Gantz with him, while also eliminating the deadly burst of flame in the space time continuum.

**Location: Tails Workshop, Mystic Ruins**

It was a nightmare within a nightmare. The world was being destroyed with each passing second, Eggman had just launched a possible doomsday weapon, and now Rouge was on her death-bed with a gaping hole in her gut. The black hedgehog watched intently as the two-tailed genius worked diligently to patch up the deep wound in his ally's body. Crimson eyes scanning over the unmoving form of Rouge, his expression remaining stone cold in the midst of the emergency, but in his own mind, a storm of thought threatened to drive him insane. Knowing the extent of what the metallic copy of Knuckles was capable of now – or he guessed – he could only pray that Rouge would make it out alive.

Finally breaking his shell of thought, Tails cleared his throat, and turned on a high tech monitor, which kept track of Rouge's vitals. "I managed to stabilize her, and close up the hole," explained the twin-tailed fox, but his expression looked troubled. "But, I wasn't able to remove some of the fragments of debris from her sys-"

Before he was given the chance to finish his sentence, a vice like grip wrapped around his throat. Vicious eyes locked onto his own panicked orbs, and suddenly a numbing sensation shot up his spine just as Shadow smashed Tails into the brick wall behind them.

"What the hell do you mean?" Shadow scowled, his own tolerance for failure very slim at the time being. "Is she going to be okay?"

Hearing the clattering of computer equipment, the shattering of a cup and the soft yelp of Tails, the door to the shop swung open, and from the entrance Knuckles, Sonic and Mighty pulled back at Shadow, attempting to calm the conflict. Seething with rage towards not only Eggman, but also the seemingly inexperienced work of the young engineer, Shadow stormed out of the work area.

"You okay, lil' bro?" Sonic asked, his eyes expressing the worry he was feeling. His stomach began to turn at the very thought of losing Tails.

"Yeah, just a bruised tail bone," he replied easily, and smiled as he rubbed his lower back gently, "I think it'd be best if I stay here to watch over Rouge. I'll direct you guys to the locations of the Chaos Emeralds from my computer; that way we won't have any chance of allowing Eggman to gain the upper hand!"

"Good plan, bud." Sonic smirked, his mind drifting back and forth from everything that was taking place, beginning to find it overwhelming for the first time in his life. The hedgehog sighed, and shoved it away. "Be sure to keep a check on that space station Eggman launched, I'm getting a bad feeling about it..."

"I'm sure good ol' Robotnik is just hiding up there," Mighty reassured with a grin, which Sonic returned.

They didn't know just how wrong they were.

Ignoring his aching back, the young fox scurried over to his computer, and from below the desk he heaved up a box and set it on the table, a proud look on his face. Either he had made something that would stop this entire conflict, or there was something in that box that Tails had forgotten that could give them an advantage they needed. Whichever it may end being, Sonic was ready to accept both, and he knew Mighty and Knuckles were thinking the same, just by their expressions.

"By using fragments of the Chaos Emerald," the young fox explained as he pulled out four small devices, and handed them towards the trio. "I've planted the pieces of the emerald inside these mini-computers, and with the signal given off by the emeralds, this device is able to pick up those readings, and then lock onto it using a GPS powered location system! It runs off of solar energy, so just as long as you keep it around your wrist at all times, it'll never die!"

Looking absolutely marveled at the piece of technology wrapped around his wrist, Knuckles stared bewilderingly at the device as it blinked to life, which brought up a small map, and coordinates and time of arrival towards a designated emerald. Angel Island really secluded Knuckles from society, and with every little gadget Tails came up with, it almost seemed to fry his brain on how to work it. Sonic on the other hand smirked, and ruffled his brother's hair enthusiastically.

"Always one to impress, eh bro?" Sonic snickered. "Thanks, lil' man!"

Squinting one eye from Sonic's hand messing up his hair, Tails grinned. "I've had these sitting around for awhile, I just had no use for them!" The fox powered on the rest of the devices, and input a destination into one of them. "This one is tracking Shadow and an Emerald. Sonic, you need to catch up to him before anything else happens to the team! I already sent Amy out, and she's ten minutes from the next emerald! We need to hurry and get these in order to get ahead of Eggman!"

If this plan worked, Sonic believed that they would be able to stop the scientist with an iron fist, and then return the world like it was meant to be. He had had enough of the war in the last couple years.

"I'm on it, bud!" The blue blur exclaimed, and disappeared in a streak of blue light.

"Are all the emeralds in the United Federation?" Mighty asked, noticing that his and Knuckles trackers took them to the same area.

"Every remaining emerald is just outside Station Square, which is why we have to hurry!" Tails replied with a serious expression. "Eggman has waves of his robots roaming the city for the emeralds, so you two need to get there as quick as possible, or else, if my calculations are correct, Eggman will have powered up his weapon on his Space Station!"

"Wait, I thought Eggman had them all?" Knuckles piped up. "What happened?"

Running over to his computer and typing in a few commands, Tails brought up an image of a destroyed base. "His base here on earth blew up after he launched his station, and the emeralds scattered! All I know now is that the only two known Emeralds are with Shadow and Metal Sonic."

"So we gotta hightail it over to those gem's and get 'em before Egghead does!"

**Location: Empire Forest, Outside War Zone Delta (_Formerly Station Square_)**

Making his way through the thick vegetation in his way, the crimson stained hedgehog trudged past vines and tree roots, his eyes focused straight ahead. He wasn't sure what to think at this point. With the worry of Rouge weighing down on his mind, Shadow wasn't in any condition to be dealing with a major crisis like this – he didn't let anyone know that though. Using a powered down Chaos Spear to slice down a group of massive evergreen trees blocking his path, the Ultimate Life form walked past the chaos of the collapsing plant life, completely undaunted. He had a goal, and his mind was fixated on that horizon in his head: destroy Metal Knuckles. However, he didn't realize what Eggman had planned, and failed to recognize the energy signature around him, until it was too late.

Shaking his bones, and causing any amount of breath in his lungs to race outwards, Shadow slid backwards, and as he lost his balance, he rolled backwards and smashed into a gigantic red wood tree. Wood splinters rained down around him, until finally the dust cleared, allowing the black hedgehog to cough and regain air into his dry throat. Dizziness overtook him from the sudden hit, leaving him unable to focus. Shadow shook his head, and blinked rapidly, trying to regain eye sight and clear the fuzziness in his vision. Though, he wasn't fast enough.

Another bone shattering punch collided with his chest, causing his ribs to creak a split second before his body was shot through the remaining mass of the tree, and into a meadow. Clumps of dirt and grass rolled up into the air from his tumbling, causing the lush green to bend and mold under his rolling form until finally his body slid to a stop in a sprawled position in the wet grass. Groaning in pain, and having not recovered from his wounds from Metal Knuckles, the ultimate life form shakily stood, and forced his eyes to focus on the oncoming intruder, who had taken no time in pursuing him.

"What the hell?" Shadow growled, gaining a glimpse of his attacker.

With the beat of wide, flowing, energy formed wings, the unknown opponent glided over the landscape towards Shadow, managing to clear the gap between them in only a few short seconds. With each beat of its wings, the attacker managed to shred the grass beneath him, and just before another powerful fist crushed Shadow's body, a vortex of wind swallowed the black hedgehog and shot him into the air. Struggling to gain his bearings, the black hedgehog spun around in mid-air with the use of his air skates, and conjured up a twisting mass of fuming, violet energy in his palm. Air rushed past him, whistling and screaming in his ears as he lingered in the sky momentarily, trying to get a view on the enemy.

Down below, a short – possibly four feet – stream-lined robot stood ready to attack. A set of massive butterfly looking wings spewed from twin-thrusters on its back, and a cascading layer of blue energy coated its hands and arms with endless torrents of power. Upon its ovular shaped head, a golden crown lay crookedly against its cranium, with jewels decorating the accessory itself. However, as the dust reclaimed his vision, Shadow managed to grip the wrist of the hand his attack was developing in, and thrust downwards, whilst pushing down with all his might. Crooked streams of purple, black and red spiraled behind Shadow in jagged, zig-zagging ribbons. As the attack danced out of control of Shadow's hand, it shot downwards, screaming downwards, through the dust, towards the unknown robot in an arrow like shape.

"Chaos Lance!"

The dark mass of energy swirled into a saw like form, and as it passed through the cloud of lingering debris, a miniscule vortex shot upwards, coated in a black light. Suddenly a helix of black energy wrapped around the area the robot once occupied, tearing up the earth and demolishing any organic life within the blast radius.

Shadow quickly teleported down below to the sparking, and nerely destroyed figure of the EX warrior. The GUN soldier knelt down beside it and, with a powerful strike to its head, the black hedgehog tugged out a small piece of technology. Setting down the smoking piece of metal, the Ultimate life form smashed open the robots chest area, finding the Chaos Emerald planted inside.

**Location: Central Control Room, Death Egg IV**

Bright, neon lights lined the entire north wall of the gigantic room of which a massive observation window provided Doctor Eggman the ability to see any oncoming threats. The aging genius sat contently behind a series of computers, his crooked, toothy grin present on his face once again as he watched news broadcasts play out from every different point on the planet on a equal number of holographic screens to computers. Visions of his absolute victory played through his head, his plans inching closer and closer to completion. The old doctor hadn't even paid a second thought to the destruction of his base back on earth, knowing full well everything within the base had been moved and stored on the station. The doctor swiped his hand across one of the holographic screens, changing it to a progress chart, which listed only three projects.

One of which was at 100%, and this certain project of his would lead to his ultimate victory.

Doctor Eggman tapped on the label which read "Project: Rebirth," bringing up a live camera feed from the experiment's own hangar, which was capable of housing one dozen fighter jets. Electrified tubes popped out of the shiny, titanium flooring, and finally connected into one tube which stood five feet tall in the center of the room. Around it, Eggman had configured a complex energy system to feed, regenerate and rest his project. Slowly the doctor zoomed into the tube, checking the temperature.

_Minus two hundred degrees Fahrenheit._

Another wide grin formed on the scientists face as he switched the display to another chart which displayed fourteen slots for a circular object – five of which were filled in with a small orb. From the fourteen slots, an additional larger space had been set above, which looked to be much larger, and much less spherical. Beside the larger space, notes scrolled down within the confines of a small text-box on the screen, going through the notes Eggman had written down for the larger section.

With yet another switch of the display on the screen, Eggman returned back to the news cast, and then enabled an intercom device from his computer, his smirk still present. Nothing could stop him at this point, not even Sonic, and he was determined to get rid of the blue hedgehog at any cost.

"Metal, I want you to initiate all settings to import DNA strings to Project: Rebirth!" The scientist bellowed. "I want the Project operating in the next day at full capacity!"

"Yes, Doctor." The doppelganger complied, and then pulled the recently acquired Twilight Key from his containment hatch. "Shall I store it with the other?"

"Yes, and be quick about it," Eggman barked, turning back to his screen, which had been split into five separate screens, showing different vantage points, however one of them had went fuzzy. "Bring me the target as well."

"_What are the limits of a self proclaimed hero? How far are they willing to go to save someone? And is that goal really worth the price of innocent lives?" ~ Abraham Tower, GUN Commanding General, 2004_

**To be Continued**

**Authors Note~ **I'd like to give great thanks to my new beta-reader, Aspiring Mythmaker, I was astounded to see how much I could work on, and I got excited to see that I could work on my writing.

I'm sorry this chapter took so long to finish, the next chapter, I promise, won't take this long! I've already started it, and it should be done tonight or tomorrow! I'm hoping you're all still here with me on this project, and I hope I managed to astound you all with this chapter. So, please leave your theories, comments and tips in a review! Originally, this chapter was meant to be three chapters! Each scene was gonna be 3000 words long!

Also, I'd like to take this time to inform you guys of some news to do with Congregation of the Damned. It's been rebooted, and moved to the main author's account by the name of "Abysmal Paradise". He's restarting everything, to make it even better and make the project the best he can! I'm still going to co-produce and co-edit this massive story, which is now named "Abysmal Hope". It features the same plot devices as the last, but with a bigger focus on Eggman than last time. It's on an entirely new level than COTD, and this time, he hopes you'll all enjoy it, so please, I encourage you all to give it a look and decide for yourself! Thankyou!


	9. Chapter 9: Overcome

**Violet Dreams**

**Chapter 9: Overcome**

"_Pain is temporary. It may last an hour, a day, a month or a year, but eventually it will subside."_

**Location: Outside GUN HQ, Emerald Desert**

Heat matched by no other place on the planet Earth beat down on the entire desert, causing intense gusts of dry wind to blow about. In the distance, a devastating sand storm was howling towards the GUN Base. However, the terrain was left untouched around the base until the storm hit.

Standing amongst the few trees found in the Emerald Desert, Shadow clutched a flashing piece of machinery he had torn from the robot which had attacked him earlier. Turning the advanced piece of technology around, the black hedgehog noticed a GPS screen on the back, which had been programmed to go to the GUN Headquarters. Shadow grew curious as to why the Doctor would even try to get inside when he already had the rest of the world pinned down. Glancing behind him at the city that once stood proud, Shadow growled and clutched the cluetighter. As a high-ranking GUN Black Ops officer, it was his duty to stop Eggman.

The sound of intense gunfire and explosions suddenly erupted from the base, and pillars of smoke billowed out of the complex. With adrenaline pumping through his veins, Shadow raced through the dry sand floor of the desert, kicking up a cloud of dust in the wake of his Air Skates. Alarms sounded and additional gunfire ensued as chaos began to unleash on the base. The screams of the scarce soldiers remaining became drowned out by the continuous explosions. Nearing the entrance of the facility, and knowing that the courtyard would be the main battleground, Shadow quickly clutched the Chaos Emerald in his possession, which warped him from the outside and into a sniper tower within. The black hedgehog rolled along the hard steel flooring of the tower and slid against a few sandbags, quickly retrieving a suitable scoped rifle leaning against the wall.

Aiming the scope towards first the horizon, Shadow clocked in the rifle, determining the time before the storm hit. "Fifteen minutes is plenty of time." Shadow remarked, and then angled the sights down into the courtyard.

Where once majestic statues of war and brilliant plant life stood, there was now a battleground for the waging war between Eggman and the world. The few hundred remaining soldiers fought valiantly to secure their base, using whatever ammunition possible: fuel containers, oil deposits, rundown military trucks, anything. Zooming into the far side of the courtyard, Shadow noticed the massive hole that the prison house wall had received. Dangerous criminals scurried out of their cells and into the fray. Some survived, and some got caught up between whizzing bullets of the soldiers. Quickly moving the sights towards the high-security containment house, which had been code named "Block 00," the hedgehog began to fight an overwhelming urge to vomit.

The heads of high ranking GUN soldiers from around the world sat atop flags of Eggman. The sight disgusted him. Seeing his military brothers being slaughtered left and right, his hopes for GUN effectively holding Eggman's forces off began to seem like a wild fantasy. Though, as brutal as it seemed, he still found it quite depressing, as he had grown to know many of the soldiers.

Finally, it hit him. Eggman's plan seemed perfect now that he finally realized it. This war wasn't for world domination at all! He was simply attacking the capitals in order to weaken GUN to the point he could set up a search for the Chaos Emeralds behind the scenes. Now he understood why the mech he had faced outside Station Square had a tracker in it! Eggman didn't care about destroying the cities at all; it was a distraction!

"Damnit!"

Shadow dropped the rifle in an instant and jumped out of the tower, landing behind a remaining hedge. Moving quickly and silently towards the entrance of Block 00. He had to give the Doctor some credit; his plan was brilliant! By declaring war against the nations of the world, the United Federation would be obligated to send out their own troops to assist. With the Doctor's unlimited supply of robotic pawns, it allowed him to take power over the military, and bring the government to its knees! Which left only Sonic and co. to indefinitely scout out the Emeralds once more to try and stop him. Of course, the doctor had already planned for that, Shadow figured, and built more powerful, singular robots to hunt out the Chaos Emeralds.

Something didn't add up though. What did the GUN HQ have anything to do with the war? Shadow remained unanswered however, whatever lay in Block 00 was sure to be his final answer. Rounding the corner of the final hallway, and finding the security checkpoint blown to pieces, powerful amounts of red and yellow energy flared to life within Shadow's hands, ready to destroy whatever got in his way. The high-powered hedgehog sped down the corridor as he descended into the final holding cells of the base. He was entering the only place keeping the world's most dangerous people contained. The black hedgehog quickly burst through one final checkpoint, and sped down the final ramp which led into the central intelligence office.

Block 00 had been constructed like a doughnut of sorts. The central office and armory was located dead center, while the five hundred and seventy two prison cells were configured around it. Separating the prisoners from the guards was a pit filled with toxic waste. Shadow slowed to a jog, and flicked on the checklist computer. His eyes scanned the information that had popped on the screen.

"Cells 1 through 572A have been breached, prisoners either dead or missing." Shadow's heart began to pound as he began to realize what the Doctor was after. "He doesn't want the Chaos Emeralds at all. He must have figured out about that girl."

Intel reports over the past few months reported the appearance of several odd energy signatures around the world, one of which GUN had captured. The five hundred and seventy third prisoner of Block 00. His brain flashed through the tests given to her, showing the intense amounts of untapped energy within her body. Eggman must have figured something out about this energy, and wanted to use it for his own twisted schemes!

The black hedgehog turned off the high tech computer and quickly grabbed an assault rifle. After reloading and cocking the fire arm, the black hedgehog grabbed a small key with a slip of paper reading "572B" on it. Shadow quickly ignited his Air Skates and sped towards the prison cell only the most trusted GUN soldiers ever even heard about. Reaching a gigantic blast door, Shadow inserted the key, which lit up a small glass panel on the door. After he'd punched in a series of numbers, the door retreated upwards, allowing the black hedgehog to dash in before it closed, moments before Eggman's pawns invaded the Block.

Blood and bones littered the descending hallway, as well as scratches and writing on the walls. Shadow knew what Eggman was after. Finally, he reached the end of the corridor, where a glass box big enough to hold a small car sat. Within sat beautiful white furnishings and sitting in the far corner of the box was a girl of about fifteen or sixteen.

She was prisoner 572B. This girl had failed to comply to national guard by not giving up an artifact which was classified as _a threat to mankind. _Shadow remembered the torture he was ordered to put the girl through, grimacing to the fact he was forced to put an innocent girl through such pain. The government labeled her as an S-Class terrorist and locked her up in a special holding cell within Block 00.

"Crush Moana, under the circumstances of world war, you're being transferred," Shadow directed, walking into the prison cell. "The weapon you possess is of high priority by wanted war criminal, Doctor Ivo Robotnik," The black hedgehog informed bluntly. "To ensure national security, you're being moved to ensure you aren't captured by him."

The young girl snarled, almost like a wild animal. "What more could that man do to me than you hell-bent freaks?"

The girl, Crush, had icy blue fur with specks of white. Her eyes seemed to be a metallic-blue color, which matched the color of her lip, nose piercings and the gems embedded in her black leather wrist bands. Her snow-white hair had been pulled into a pony tail, and she was forced to wear a white shirt and white pants, which concealed her hourglass figure. Her pointed ears signified her heritage to the fox family of anthros. Growling with impatience, Shadow grabbed the girl's hand and yanked her up to full height, where she only came up to Shadow's chest.

"Listen to me you ignorant brat," Shadow barked. "Eggman wants you for something, and that something isn't going to end well! So unless you want this whole damn planet gone, you'll come with me!"

The young girl pushed away from the black hedgehog, and staggered back a bit. "Fine, whatever..." Crush muttered timidly, "but I highly doubt I'll be of any use. I told you I didn't do anythin-"

Before she could finish, the four-foot-thick blast door was blown inwards, sending it hurling down the corridor. Grabbing the girl bridal style, Shadow bounded out of the glass prison cell, and over top of the blast door moments before it smashed into containment cell. A storm of glass, feathers and wood exploded forth. A fleet of Eggman's pawns flooded the hallway, keeping their rifle's sights locked on Shadow. A cloud of bullets sailed past Shadow moments before he landed behind the invaders and sped off along the outer ring of Block 00.

"Now pay attention," Shadow explained, his eyes darting back to the corridor anxiously, "whatever it is that you have is very powerful." Shadow growled and quickly set the girl down behind a bundle of sheets and boxes, allowing him to fire off three Chaos Spears at the oncoming group of robots.

Grunting as the hedgehog picked her up once more, the young girl yelped as the black hedgehog sped up towards a fleet of robots of an even greater number than before. Acting as quickly as possible, the black hedgehog bounded over the robots.

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Of course you don't!" Shadow snapped back. "You don't even know how great of a threat you are to this planet if that man manages to capture you!"

A brilliant and heavenly green light suddenly enveloped them, illuminating the entire Block before it disappeared, taking them with it.

Appearing outside the containment building, Shadow set his prisoner, and the final piece to the puzzle, down on the ground and quickly shot off a Chaos Spear at a nearby GUN vehicle. The force of the small explosion of energy pushed the truck against the opening of the facility, and again Shadow disappeared, leaving the girl alone.

A terrifying, yet warm, crimson light began to radiate against the cracks that the truck hadn't concealed. Steam began to rise out of the truck, and finally high pressured blasts of air tore the military vehicle away, giving way for a brilliant burst of red energy to tear apart the entrance lobby of Block 00, trapping the robots within. Another flash of light appeared as Shadow rematerialized from Chaos Control, and pulled the young fox up once more.

"Hurry up, I need to get you somewhere safe!"

Suddenly, Shadow's eyesight became blurry, and his senses became numb. His mind seemed to seep away from reality, and the only remaining sensation was the agonizing pain in his torso. With fading vision, the black hedgehog grasped his stomach as warm red liquid seeped through his gloves, staining them. Shadow, the Ultimate Lifeform, crouched over in pain, and finally sunk to the ground as a pool of blood began to form beneath him. Crush screamed in terror as Metal Knuckles quickly scooped her up against her will and disappeared.

Eggman was about to win the war.

**Location: Neutralized District, Empire City**

Walking through the only safe city block of the entire city, Sonic felt an air of relief to see people being given medical treatment and food being distributed amongst the citizens. Glancing down at the small radar in his hand for what seemed to be the hundredth time in the last five minutes, Sonic turned a corner and began to jog down the street, which had been littered with destroyed buildings and burning cars. The blue hero sped past signs warning that if one were to continue, they'd exit the safe zone. The blue hero prepared himself, beginning to block out the sounds of gunfire and eruptions from airstrikes. Dashing and veering through the destruction, Sonic noticed the Chaos Emerald depicted on the radar was significantly closer, giving him a sense of accomplishment.

The blue hero shot through the chaos of clashing soldiers and mechs, doing his best to ignore the dead bodies on the ground. Sonic quickly bounded to his right, avoiding an oncoming GUN tank just before it fired off its cannons. An eruption of fire and smoke swallowed up a cluster of approaching Egg-Pawns, destroying them and scattering their parts over the battlefield. A shell of light flickered to life around the blue hero as he began to speed up towards the curved entrance to the freeway. Sonic wasn't used to this environment; he hadn't seen war before.

Shooting around the sharp turn and onto the freeway, Sonic launched off an upturned chunk of pavement and soared across a hundred-yard gap in the road. Descending in the direction of a guard rail, Sonic's shoes clicked against the steel of the rail and the blue hedgehog slid along the rail as if he were on a snowboard. However, he had failed to notice the bright pulse of light on a collapsed sky-scraper to his left, and took the full force of a shot from an energy cannon. The pulse of energy wrapped around him as its force shot the blue hedgehog away from the rail and into the air. Smoking and dazed, the blue hedgehog failed to soften his landing and smashed shoulder first into the rough pavement, and bouncing across it several times before rolling head over heels into a fallen billboard. The sound of paper ripping and metal tearing added to the sounds of the war taking place.

Sparking and fizzling on the ground beside him, the tracker broke apart into little pieces, falling out of Sonic's hand. Seething and grumbling in pain, the blue hedgehog slowly pushed himself up with his right arm, as his left hung lifelessly at his side, putting an uneven handicap on the battle over the Chaos Emerald in the area. Rock and chipped cement rolled away from the sky-blue hero as he stood up to face his attacker.

"Heh, back for more you bucket of bolts?" Sonic teased as the golden-armored mech landed on the ground.

"Under orders of Doctor Robotnik, I am to exterminate you, and return the Chaos Emerald," the EX Ace explained, its wings powering up behind it.

"You have no idea how many times I've heard that, pal!" Sonic retorted with a grin, despite his broken arm. "Why don't you give up before I break ya'?"

"Negative."

Acting quickly, the blue hero bounded to the left, avoiding a strike from the EX Ace's energy sword. As the hero grabbed hold of an upright pole, he swung around and smashed his heels into the robot, knocking it away into a car, resulting in the vehicle being crushed. The blue hero zipped through the air, quickly forming a rippling orb of blue energy in his useable hand just as the mech unleashed a relentless beam of spinning energy from its torso. Sonic quickly spun to the left as his feet touched the ground, avoiding the beam as it smashed into an oil truck, creating an explosion. Sonic quickly thrust his right arm forwards, driving the mass of energy into the robot.

Three rapid bursts of blue energy erupted from the other side of the mech just as it grabbed the hedgehog's broken arm and tossed him away, seemingly untouched by the attack. Sonic bounced off the ground and smashed into another car as glass crashed to the ground around him. The hedgehog bit his lip in pain as he clutched his arm from the hit, and staggered away from the car. Three powerful thrusts of light erupted from the Ace, propelling it across the four-way crossing with its energy blade extended and ready to strike.

Sonic took in a deep breath, and exhaled. Just before the blade of light collided with his ribcage, Sonic grabbed it with his usable hand, burning his glove and hand, and then kicked off the ground, successfully flipping over top of the mech and landing behind it. The blue hedgehog delivered a powerful roundhouse kick into the mech's head, throwing it to the ground. However, overwhelmed with the pain of his broken arm, the hedgehog stumbled to the ground. The Ex Ace swiftly fired its thrusters up once more, boosting it into the sky, and in the direction of the sun.

With a few grunts of discomfort, Sonic scrambled to his feet and began whipped his arm through the air, releasing a powerful storm of blue wind in the direction of the Ace. Using only a few small blasts of energy the Ace negated Sonic's attack and continued firing at him, forcing him to run.

Zipping across the street in an instant, Sonic jumped off a wall which propelled him into the air towards an opening in an adjacent window, narrowly escaping powerful torrents of energy being fired from the Ace. As he took cover behind a wall to escape the robot's keen vision, he formed another swirling orb of energy in his palm. This time, however, it flattened against his hand forming a razor-looking shape.

"I have to aim this right," Sonic mumbled to himself, attempting to catch his breath. "Or I'm done for."

A split second before energy shots tore apart his shelter, Sonic scurried to his left and after skidding to push himself through the air once more he noticed a small red gleam in the window sill of a building beside him. A small grin etched itself across his lips as he found a small piece of confidence to the battle. The blue hero swung his arm around and released the screaming mass of energy through the air towards the Ace.

Passing the mech the exact moment his attack hit allowed him to jump off its head in order to get a height advantage, just before the razor-shaped mass of light tore into the robot, creating a violent sphere of spinning energy ripping apart its armor, leaving it vulnerable to any other strikes.

Sonic smashed through a window still in-tact and rolled across the floor, covering his eyes from the bright light his offensive maneuver created. Sonic quickly scrambled to his feet once more, doing his best to ignore the raging pain in his arm and stumbled down the stairs, narrowly avoiding a vicious ray of energy from ripping him to shreds.

Debris rained over the streets as the entire upper level of the building he'd entered a second ago blew apart, throwing him onto the asphalt. Sonic quickly regained footing, noticing that the robot had began to ascend.

"Running away are we?" the hero snickered, hoping his guess was true. Blue energy wrapped around his hand, and once more spun into a razor. He thought he might test his luck with it again.

"Energy output at 100%, redirect to central cannon."

The swarming wings of light upon the Ace's back suddenly disappeared as two plate of armor shifted away from a ring in its core. Particles of light began to gather around the central point, creating a black and white mass of compacted energy, overpowering the light of the sun behind it. Determination evident in his expression, he poured more of his energy into the spiraling mass in his clutch.

"Here's what's gonna happen, bolt-brains!" Sonic called out above the sound of charging energies. "I'm gonna avoid your fancy attack, destroy you _and then_ get that Chaos Emerald over there! All in one attack!"

Turning its optic sensors to the left momentarily, the Ace located the Chaos Emerald on the edge of the top floor of the building Sonic motioned towards. Sonic smirked, and just as the compiled mass of black energy fired in a powerful burst of purple and white light, Sonic jumped away from it and towards the Chaos Emerald in a flash of blue. The whir of the attack spinning rapidly in his palm echoed through the city before the powerful sonic boom given off by the Ace's attack swallowed all sound up. Not realizing the true potential of the robot's attack, Sonic collided with the edge of the beam and rolled along the top floor of a house, his attack fading away.

Pushing himself back up and with a mighty jump he soared above the beam of deadly energy, and towards the Ace. Reforming instantly in his hand, the razor-shaped Sonic Wind popped into life. As he swiftly hurled his new attack downwards, the same sphere of blue light erupted around the mech, causing it's circuits to fry moments before its own attack swallowed it up. A brilliant display of blue and purple from the mixture of both maneuvers filled the sky. Several bursts of wind plunged into Sonic from the force of the explosion, throwing him into another building, emerald in hand.

Sonic rolled along the floor, and after smashing into the far wall, he sighed in relief. "Didn't think that would work."

**Location: Specimen Containment, Death Egg IV**

Violent eruptions of fire and smoke spewed dangerously from the bound figure. His vicious screams of anger filling the air of the blast-proof room, controlling the intensity of the fire around the captive. With a swish of smoke, the blast doors lifted upwards, allowing the overweight scientist, Doctor Eggman, entrance into the containment area. A wide grin spread across his lips as he stood calmly in front of the captured specimen, who looked rather exhausted by this point. Zapping streams of green energy flashed into existence, pulling the cuffs around the figure's wrists tighter.

"As you probably know, you've been captured due to a rare energy source bestowed within you," Eggman stated, standing in front of the enraged captive. "I'll take a chance and assume your encounter with my dear Metal Sonic didn't end up in your favor?"

"Shut your mouth!"

Streams of intense electricity lit up the room like a light, scorching the captive fire user for lashing out at the Doctor. "Now, if you'd settle down and allow me to do my work, this can all be done quickly, and cleanly." The mad scientist moved towards a table to his right, acquiring a remote control.

"Whatever it is you want from me," Gantz snarled, his eyes lit with determination, "just know you won't get it alive. I'm a part of one of the most powerful underground operations on the planet, and I'm one of their top agents! God forbid you kidnap me without them getting revenge!"

"It's a good thing we're not on the planet then," Eggman retorted simply, and then clicked a button on the device he picked up.

Transparent masses of liquidized energy suddenly began to drip down the holding cuffs, melting Gantz's skin as it began to soak into his body, in search of the energy source that had been given to him at birth. Screams of pain and terror pierced the deadly silence of the research lab, awakening another captive. The miserable and disgusting smell of burnt flesh began to waft through the air, causing the barely awakened secondary prisoner-Crush-to vomit. Gantz let out a roar of pain once more as the smoldering hole in the back of his neck began to close. The brilliant flames that once danced around his body slowly died out as his consciousness teetered. His mind began to fade in and out of reality, as a black void slowly enveloped his sight.

"Artifact _Twilight Key _recovery has begun. Time until extraction: Two hours and fifty-five minutes," a robotic voice conveyed, bringing a wide grin to the doctors face.

"Thank you Eve," Eggman acknowledged his creation, and walked towards his second captive. "Calculate vitals on prisoner 002 and ensure he survives extraction."

A video feed of Gantz appeared on the massive LED screen hanging on the far wall, a green bar present next to the recording. Nodding with appreciation, the Doctor turned towards a hallway just before the lights in the containment room flickered off, leaving the two prisoners alone with the horrific sounds of each others screams of pain.

**Location: Hatching Room, Death Egg IV**

"Ah, yes." Eggman marveled at the six five-foot metal containers. "Everything's starting to come into place! With the final two keys on their way with Metal Sonic and Metal Knuckles, I'll be ready to activate Project Rebirth, and mark the start of the era of Eggman!"

Steam rolled off the containers as the green liquid within the central pod began to drain away. Within it, purple eyes opened up in the darkness. The Doctor walked out of the room, his laugh audible through the entire sector of the Death Egg.

"_A lie is a lie. Just because they write it down and call it history, doesn't make it the truth. We live in a world where seeing is not believing. We live in a world where everything you know...is wrong." ~ Isaiah Hudson, GUN Black Ops Commander; M.I.A, 2009_

**To Be Continued**

**Authors Note~ **Yes, I got the last quote from Call of Duty Black Ops. I really liked it, and to be truthful, it kinda fits! I really spent a lot of time on this chapter, and look! It was done quicker than last time! Bonus right there! I hope you guys enjoyed this one as much as I did, because we're about to delve into the full story of things! If you guys have any questions, comments, tips or theories, PLEASE leave them in a review! I have a small relation to a movie in the scene with Shadow. It isn't ENTIRELY noticeable, but if you do, give me a shout! It particularly involves Block 00 holding the most dangerous criminals, and having an unknown extra prisoner and blah blah blah! Anyway! If you wanna take a shot at it, feel free to do so in a review or a PM (messages are preferred, since I don't want it spoiled for others). Expect chapter 10 soon!

Another special thanks to my beta-reader, Aspiring Mythmaker, for doing another wonderful job on reviewing and helping me edit this chapter! I truly feel that with him helping me edit, the Dusk series will truly shine this time! Thanks a lot man, I'm really happy with the help you've been providing for the last two chapters!


	10. Chapter 10: Collapse

**Violet Dreams**

**Chapter 10: Collapse**

"_An unjust peace is better than a just war."_

**Location: GUN HQ, Emerald Desert**

Howling winds, screaming men and gunfire filled the base. Shadow struggled to stand up, blood splashing to the sandy floor beneath him. His vision remained blurry, and his senses numb. Every sound around him seemed to be drowned out, and the smell of blood and fire mixed into one. Managing to shakily stand up, the GUN Agent scanned the courtyard for any sign of Crush. The soldiers, the robots and the explosions blended into a blurry canvas of color before Shadow as his mind began to fade in and out of consciousness once again. Staggering forward and nearly tripping, the ultimate life form began to call out for the young girl before he fainted again.

A bone crushing blow collided with his torso, effectively sending him rolling along the ground head over heels. After bouncing off the ground and into the barricade around the base, a flash of scarlet launched towardsShadow, claws energized and ready to strike. With gashes and scrapes covering his body, Shadow slowly yanked himself out of the hole his collision created just as the assailant smashed a sparking claw into his gut. Blood splashed out from the impalement, staining the silver claws of Metal Knuckles.

"I've been ordered to bring you back to the Doctor, dead," the monstrosity explained simply, "or alive!"

Ignoring the immense pain in his abdomen, the black hedgehog grappled the scarlet copy's forearm, and began to tighten his grip. Metal Knuckles quickly plunged his claws deeper into the soldier's gut, attempting to stop him from trying to escape, but to no avail. Shadow growled eagerly as his eyesight wavered from clear to blurry. The sound of metal being bent and crushed rang through the air as Shadow screamed and squeezed his hands closed with all his might.

In a mess of wire and titanium armoring, the left arm of Metal Knuckles exploded, leaving two silver claws protruding from the life form's gut. Using the fraction of a second he had, Shadow released a small jolt of chaos energy, pushing the beast away and sliding into the watch tower. Fighting to stay awake, Shadow tore the bloody claws from his torso and warped in front of Metal Knuckles, activating the weapon with his own energy before driving it into the robot's forehead.

Sparks jumped from the head of the mech as its sensors died out, leaving it limp against the tower. Shadow stumbled backwards weakly and collapsed onto his back, his stomach oozing blood.

He couldn't give up now. This wasn't his end.

Shadow rolled over, and as he raised himself to his hands and knees, he saw a bright flash of light in the distance. If he was right, it came from Capital City. In the moment he shifted his attention to the horizon, another powerful blow struck his body, this time colliding with his spine. The battered hedgehog dropped to the sandy ground as the torn up Metal Knuckles loomed over top of him. Using its only remaining arm, Metal Knuckles heaved the now unconscious hedgehog over its shoulder as if he were a pillow and disappeared.

The raging heat of the desert suddenly dropped, and the winds carrying the sandstorm brought a barrage of hail.

**Location: Death Egg IV**

Standing confidently in front of the laser beams that created Shadow's prison, the Doctor laughed heartily and stood up from his chair. Scowling devilishly, the black hedgehog glared at the old scientist and attempted once more to snap the hand cuffs around his wrists.

"Don't waste your strength, my dear Shadow." Eggman taunted, "I've integrated concentrated Chaos liquid into those handcuffs. The odds of you snapping them are one in a million."

"You had better hope so, filth!" the black hedgehog barked back. "What are you up to this time, huh?"

The rounded man laughed once again, and with a smirk he turned around to face the observatory window behind him. Running along the side panels of the window were numerous status bars and rows of data. Eggman leaned over momentarily and typed in a few words on the screen, triggering a live video feed of the hatching room aboard the Death Egg. Standing alone in the room were the same six pods as before, each emptied of the green fluid which kept the life forms within in a frozen-like state.

"I'm assuming you remember these devices." Eggman marveled, "You must understand that my grandfather was a very bright man, to be able to create you. Regardless of the help he had from an alien race, that man created the most intricate piece of machinery known to this generation."

"I appreciate the compliment," Shadow sneered.

"Yes, yes. Anyway, as I was saying, the blueprints to your creation had never been written down; he kept your design on his mental drawing board. You know what that means right? You can never be duplicated." Eggman took in a breath, seemingly irritated by the last sentence. "Anyhow, it seems he kept a log of your creation in his diary, and trust me Shadow, his process is something not even I can repeat. So I had to improvise and use the best I had – machines."

"What's your point?"

"My point being that you've just volunteered to be my guidebook to creating my own army of super-soldiers. Shadow, you are the key to perfecting Project Rebirth, and the base of my domination!"

"That doesn't explain your attack on innocent cities!" Shadow retorted, thrashing against his restraints even more. "Or you capturing innocent people for something they have no control over!"

"It's all for one, singular goal." Eggman stated, "If I want to create my own empire in the place of the old, I must start fresh. In order to do that, I need a power source unlike any other in existence: Polaris. Echidna legends claim that a once great war leader became power-hungry and sacrificed his own daughter to use the beast to destroy all his enemies. Now it's my turn to taste the forbidden fruit! Ho Ho Ho!" Eggman howled in laughter as he turned back to the black hedgehog.

Horrified, Shadow struggled against the restraints, his wounds bleeding through the bandaging the Doctor provided. "It'll all fall through like every other plan of yours, Doctor," the hedgehog grunted. "Besides, what makes you so sure that you've won? GUN is far from giving up, and we've neutralized your forces in sixty percent of your targets!"

"Dear Shadow, I thought you would have come up with the answer by now!" Eggman chuckled grimly. "You see, I needed a distraction, something to lead everyone away from my precious energy sources! I must admit it was a delightful precaution, but it was merely a side-show!"

"Energy sources?" Repeated the chained super-soldier, "You mean the Chaos Emeralds?"

"Those shiny stones are batteries compared to what I'm researching!" the Doctor retorted. "What I'm after will unleash the very force that exterminated the fourth great civilization of the world! With the keys locked away inside those pieces of trash I've been collecting, I come closer to opening the Twilight Gate! With energy provided by the Eclipse Cannon, I will eradicate Earth, and build over it with machines – turning it into Eggman Land!"

"I can assure you, Doctor, that the moment I get free, you will be stopped."

"Petty threats," Eggman scoffed, unamused. "Tell me Shadow, what are you fighting for?" he questioned venomously.

"I fight for the lives on that planet. The lives of which Maria pleaded me to protect, so they can feel the happiness she never received!"

"So you protect those people, by affiliating yourself with organization that _murdered _her?"

Shadow fell silent for a moment. The Doctor tapped a button on the side of the prison cell and a purple gas slowly seeped into the small box-like cell, knocking the once powerful soldier unconscious.

**Location: Capital City Ruins, United Federation**

Tossing an overturned sedan out of the way, Mighty the armadillo sighed and continued in the direction of the blinking dot on his radar. Since the invasion, the world was disgustingly bland now, driving Mighty to hate Doctor Eggman for ruining his home planet. Walking up to a giant slab of fallen concrete, the traveler quickly threw the obstacle across the street and entered the doorway it concealed. The beeping coming from the device in his hand began to pick up, showing that he was nearing his goal. With a sigh, Mighty quickly hopped over the gap in the floor, then made his way up the small wooden stair case. Making his way into the battered upstairs, he noticed the sun peaked through the gaps in the walls. It was nearing dusk, and there was still no sign of the emerald.

"I wonder where it is," Mighty muttered while taking a seat on the edge of the building, facing the setting sun.

The pillars of smoke billowing from the countless shops and buildings of Capital City definitely were a depressing sight. Especially to a traveler like Mighty who lived to see different cities and scenery. The sun slowly began to disappear behind the horizon, leaving a faint outline of yellow and orange to cascade over the destroyed skyscrapers, slowly plunging the city into night. Sighing once more, the armadillo grabbed the radar beside him,then stared at the blinking circle, noticing it was starting to move across the screen.

"Uh oh," he grumbled and quickly bounded out of the house, and onto the street. "This could be bad! If that's Eggman, then..then..shit," Mighty mumbled, and quickly hurried off in the direction of the moving emerald.

Mighty made his way through the battle-scarred city, avoiding rundown vehicles and crumbling buildings in his way. He glanced down at the radar hanging around his neck from a length of leather, and pushed on. After bounding over an over-pass and onto a four-way intersection, Mighty dashed down a final street towards a tunnel system, where a faint glow lit up the inky darkness. However, the light seemed to be getting smaller, as if it was going the opposite direction.

Drawing in another breath of air amidst his panting, Mighty ran off into the tunnels as he began yelling. "Stop!"

The footsteps he had heard down the tunnel ceased, and the wavering of the emerald did as well. Mighty skid to a halt, catching his breath as he allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness.

"Give it up, Doctor Eggman!" Mighty shouted into the darkness, grinning. "That emerald's mine!"

Earning no reply except a quiet snicker, the emerald suddenly dropped to the ground, and onto a mass of exposed electrical wires. Lending the lighting system its energy, the emerald released a surge of power through the wires, and into the lights above, illuminating the entire tunnel way. Standing before him were two mysterious figures, each sporting their own raggedy attire. Standing stoic and confident with the Chaos Emerald in hand was a short, silver furred monkey. His fur had patches of cloud looking black fur along his chest and gust-like patterns by his eyes. On his gloves Mighty noticed a strange green emblem, seeming to be of a cloud exhaling a tornado.

"Doctor Eggman?" the primate repeated in astonishment. "You're comparing us to the man who tore down this precious city?"

"Why are we sticking around, Hurricane?" A deeper, much more gruff voice spoke up, "I thought we were taking that little rock to the power room?"

Standing tall beside the monkey, known as Hurricane, was a very muscular bear. With forest green fur covering his entire body, save for the black triangular patterns in the fur around his neck, the bear seemed relatively normal. However, two features seemed to pop out to Mighty: first of all, the bear's eyes were completely hidden by a layer of fur dangling over his forehead, and second, the large creature had three gems embedded into his wrists.

"Who are you two?" Mighty remarked, holding a curious gaze towards the duo in front of him, "And what power room?"

Grumbling with frustration, and slight annoyance, Hurricane spun around to his partner. "Shut up, Gaia!" he barked harshly. "We were told to keep it a secret!"

Watching the two friends quarrel amongst themselves, Mighty noticed the Chaos Emerald roll out from in between the opposites and come to rest against a slab of broken concrete. Glancing back towards the arguing duo, the black armadillo slowly inched towards the glowing gem. He reached out, ready to snatch up the gem and run, unaware of the chips of rock falling around him. Then, as large cracks began to develop in the crumbling overpass, a torrent of raging energy tore an opening in the concrete, knocking Mighty away. A powerful storm of dust and smoke pushed against the trio, smothering them. As the fourth, unknown figure descended into the tunnel, a vicious whirlwind blew about, pushing away the debris.

The devastating white blades of Metal Knuckles crackled energetically as his thrusters switched off, dropping him to the ground. Unleashing a barrage of high-speed slashes of blinding white-energy from his blades, Mighty yelped in pain as the full force of thirty strikes smashed into his body. The intense heat and power proved too much for even Mighty's shell, and knocked the armadillo against the roof of the tunnel. Swiping his blades through the air over and over, a seemingly unending number of slashes collided with the freedom fighter, throwing the poor traveler against the ground and out onto the street in a battered heap.

Metal Knuckles quickly spun around with the aid of his powerful thrusters, noticing the two thieves running with shining gem. A smirk formed on the engineered mouth of the crimson hunter, and with a powerful shock of light, the mechanical blades-man rocketed towards the fleeing duo, and scooped them up before disappearing into the sky.

**Location: Emerald Town, West Coast**

A dazzling green and white light ruptured the sky. From it, an elegant and precise trail of turquoise light trailed across the horizon, before it finally disappeared into another flash of green. Rich soil and damp grass fluttered inthe air around the mechanical creature which had just appeared. The gentle breeze from the ocean wafted over the grassy plateau like the breath of an angel, blowing the tall vegetation back and forth. Metal glanced upwards, taking note of the high canyon walls in front of him and beside him, and the sharp drop into the crashing, white capped ocean front to his left. Eighty yards away a single apple tree reached high into the sky,shading the area from the beating sun.

Water rained over the plains seconds after a larger-than-normal wave collided with the cliff side, providing the grass moisture. Metal Sonic walked forwards slowly, scanning the perimeter for every detail possible to ensure his mission's success. He had already deducted five escape routes, two hiding spots for which he could launch a sneak attack and one cave which lead to the forest on the other side of the valley. The plateau was two-hundred and ninety-eight yards in diameter, providing him adequate space for long rage assaults if needed. He also knew of the Chaos Emerald buried beneath the apple tree, providing it with extra life energy to produce larger-than-normal fruit.

There was one thing missing, however. And that was his current target, who was supposed to be situated on the plateau.

Stopping in the middle of the field, Metal Sonic quickly scanned over the canyon walls, finding no possible hiding place. A slight crunch caught the hunter's attention, bringing his optic sensors to the apple tree almost seventy yards away. A screaming charge of white electricity chirped to life within his claw, creating his signature attack: the _Vulcan_. In the blink of an eye, Metal closed the gap between him and his oblivious target. Zig-zagging cracks in the ground jumped away from the impact of Metal's attack, colliding with the target. Screeching arcs of white-hot lightning erupted from the egg-robot's claw as the attack exploded upwards in an elegant pillar of crackling electricity.

A loud crash filled the canyon walls as Metal's target smashed back to earth, throwing chunks of dirt and rock around the vicinity. Leftover volts of electricity arced across the ground, away from the target. Metal examined the target, taking note of the spiking power levels in his sensors. Floods of data raced past his optical fields, and in a split second his chaos reserves had been rerouted to provide him with enhanced speed and defensive ability.

"Activating diamond shield," the quiet, robotic female voice informed inside Metal's guidance system.

Lighting up like a spinning gemstone, the shield began to rotate around Metal at a fierce velocity, slowly tearing away at the earth beneath him. Crawling out of the small crater like a zombie from a horror film, the target growled in pain. With a final heave, the battered figure pulled himself from the hole in the ground and stood combat ready before Metal.

Brilliant yellow fur seemed to be the most noticeable thing about the lion before him. Black, lightning-shaped patterns of fur wrapped around his arms and neck. The target had a messy hairstyle, with two long bangs framing his face. Metal took note of the electrifying turquoise eyes, which seemed to match the gems in the lion's black gloves. He also wore a military style combat vest, black cargo pants and combat boots.

Rows of data slid across Metal's field of vision, providing him with combat statistics for his target, Surge Fleuret the Lion. This man had been gifted with a natural affinity with lightning, which enhanced his speed and agility. However, this was to the detriment of accuracy and defense. The charts displayed in his stats warned Metal of a powerful attack named _Millennium Dragon_. Perhaps this one would be a bit more challenging than theother targets.

With a quick strike to the ground, Surge punched the ground with such force that a shock wave burst forth, knocking away the doppelganger. Hurtling through the air at incredible speeds, Metal Sonic quickly jolted up into the sky with a Vulcan charging in each of his claws. Surge, on the other hand, clapped his hands together, emitting a deafening _bang_, as if thunder had just shook the heavens. As the lion began to pull his hands apart, a powerful band of electricity danced and jumped around his arms, forming into twin orbs of condensed electricity.

"Millennium Dragon!"

Massive charges of lightning spun around the lion as the condensed orbs of energy grew and tumbled in his palms. Metal, however, released his own attack, spun around mid-flight, creating a cloak of flame from histhrusters, and darted down towards Surge in a flaming ball. Growling with ferocity, the electrically-gifted beast performed an elegant back flip, and with the aid of his natural element, the lion warped across the plateau in a flash of golden light, then bounced off the canyon wall. A split second after the high-powered lion launched away from the rock wall, boulders and chunks of broken stone tumbled to the ground from the force. Screaming like a dragon from the heavens, the orbs of lightning surged through the sky as the feline-king smashed them into Metal. A sphere of light wrapped around each fighter, throwing Metal down to the ground in a smoking heap, and sending the Key vessel elegantly through the air and to the ground.

"So who are ya'?" Surge yawned, a lazy expression upon his face as he lingered over Metal, "Some sort of malfunctioned clean up robot from Central?"

_Initiating over-drive._

Bursts of orange light began to radiate within Metal, when finally the light spread across the robot like a plague, creating a film of electricity across his armor. The hunter bounded out of the crater, and in a swift movement grasped the lion by the neck and smashed Surge into the ground with a powerful blast of Chaos and Electrical energy, effectively knocking the vessel out all in one fluid motion. Light gleamed through the cracks in the plateau, and from within the split ground, electrical charges jumped upwards from the lingering force of the grapple displayed by Metal Sonic. Slowly, the orange film of energy retreated to the core of the robot, forcing the hunter to discharge his attack.

Slinging the unconscious feline over his shoulder, the mechanized fighter disappeared in the flash of Chaos Control once again, leaving the once beautiful plains of Emerald Town destroyed.

**Location: Specimen Containment, Dead Egg IV**

Strung up like hopeless animals, Hurricane seethed in pain as the machinery poked and prodded his body, attempting to extract the Twilight Key from within him. It was as though he were a prisoner of war being tortured for ransom, or Intel. Strung up beside him with thick cables was Gaia, who had been knocked unconscious due to the horrendous pain of this _extraction _the Doctor went on about. His muscles suddenly tensed up, and Hurricane screamed out with all his might, hoping that by some chance he might escape. But no such wish could save him.

Held down with shock-repelling titanium fiber rope, Surge sat quietly while arcs of powerful electricity surged across the floor. He knew he was in trouble, but the fact of the matter was that he had no escape. His bright turquoise eyes watched as the gigantic mineral controlling bear howled and roared with agony before him.

Gaia's vision faded to black, and blood seeped down his stomach and legs from the gaping hole in his chest. Slowly and diligently, a set of smaller robotic hands extended and began stitching up the wound. Being held in a robotic hand was the small orb of light that Hurricane had possessed in his body – the Twilight Key. Only two more and Eggman could unleash his trump card, and begin his reign over the planet earth. Sliding across the room, the robotic arm set the orb in a padded vault with two others like itself, and then locked the vault.

The fluorescent red eyes of Metal Sonic illuminated the inky darkness of the containment area as the next set of coordinates uploaded into its optic sensors. Two more targets, and Metal could claim the life of the only other that rivaled him. He would snatch away the life most precious to the world, and hold it dear whilst smothering it into oblivion.

"Initiating capture of Galaxy the Cat."

Additional details began to scroll down across Metal's optics, warning him to proceed with caution.

"_It doesn't take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.__" ~ Nikolai Verruckt, "Ambrosia" Test Subject 002; 1948_

**To be Continued**

**Authors Note~ **Well, this took long enough... Yes, I know it seems like forever since I've updated. I'm sorry. To those who are still with me, I hope you read and review. I know the pacing in this chapter was very..rushed, and I apologize. But I needed to get through the rest of the captures before Galaxy, because the next chapter needs to tie up the capture segment of the arc, and bring the heroes up to the main conflict, and ultimately, closer to Dusk. I have the next 3 chapters in production, so hopefully it won't be as long. I hope you'll all leave your comments, tips and theories in a review.


	11. Chapter 11: Ante Bellum

**Violet Dreams**

**Chapter 11: ****Ante Bellum**

"_A Prisoner of war is a man who tries to kill you and fails, and then asks you not to kill him"_

**Location: Tails Workshop, Mystic Ruins**

Screaming winds plowed against the small building, turning the water wheel faster than it had ever moved before while snow and hail spun through the sky, piling up into massive drifts against the workshop. Within the little red house, the heroes sat gathered around a table, each watching the flickering light of the candles as Tails brought in a backup generator for his computer. Amy shivered quietly, pulling her red scarf tighter around her face. Returning back to the Mystic Ruins, they were welcomed with the bitter surprise of a raging blizzard moving throughout Station Square and the ruins. Once inside, they discovered that the power had been knocked out all across the eastern seaboard, and were forced to resort to candle light.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Amy sighed, realizing the calamity that Eggman had strewn. "We lost all the Chaos Emeralds. And before we know it, the world will be destroyed!"

"We'll figure something out, Amy," Sonic assured.

Tails connected his computer to the generator, and flipped open the screen as it booted up. "We need a plan of action, guys. We can't just sit back and watch as Eggman takes over the world. There must be something we can do."

"After Eggman's robot nabbed the Chaos Emerald in Capital, the weather really crazy!" Mighty informed the group.

"Sounds somethin' like what happened back in Mazuri when we attacked Eggman's base, eh Knuckles?" Sonic explained, noting the connection.

"Before the power got knocked out, I was doing some research on weather patterns, and it seems like the conditions we're experiencing are absolute opposites for our atmospheric position," Tails explained. "In other words, we aren't supposed to be experiencing weather like this. For example, there shouldn't be freezing cold temperatures in the savannah."

"Why would he need to disrupt the weather in the first place? It doesn't make much sense if you ask me," Knuckles grumbled, shooting a wary glance at the Master Emerald sitting in the makeshift shrine behind him.

"I think we're missing the big picture here guys," Tails explained, turning on his bigger monitor. "I don't think Eggman needs the weather, but maybe he needs what's causing it. He hasn't done anything that would even hint that he'd need the weather patterns, either. So far all we know is that he's destroying the cities of the world, and collecting the Chaos Emeralds! So it _has _to be the source of the strange conditions!"

Suddenly the massive screen that hung on the far wall flashed to life. A faded Eggman insignia flickered across the screen momentarily, and then a countdown from three. The picture faded out to black, leaving only a glowing cage and a black hedgehog seated in the corner. His chest and abdomen were wrapped up with white bandages, which had been stained with blood. Everyone gasped, while Sonic's temper flared to new heights as he bounded out of seat and yelled at the monitor.

"What do you think you're doing Eggman?"

In response to Sonic's outburst, a recorded message began to play. "You pathetic children are probably in an outrage over your precious Shadow here. I assure you that you have no idea what I have in store for this little GUN agent here."

Lights suddenly flashed to life on the monitor, lighting up the room perfectly. Shadow could be seen sitting almost lifeless against the walls of the cage as three robotic pawns moved in on Shadow from three different angles. The first robot, which was colored green, bound the hedgehog's hands, while the second and third pawns forced Shadow to his feet. Blood leaked from his bandages like water, and dripped to his feet. The once powerful Ultimate Life Form seemed weak and defenseless now.

"Shadow the Hedgehog was my grandfather's most valued project, and likewise he kept the blueprints valued as well," Eggman taunted, barely containing his laughter. "Well it seems as though I've figured out the schematics! And Shadow here is the perfect subject for me to experiment with!"

Slowly the three robots led Shadow off the screen. "This was recorded two hours ago, Sonic. And Shadow's vital signs aren't looking good!" Eggman cackled. "It's your move!"

The doctor laughed uncontrollably as the video shifted to his insignia and then turned to static.

The blue hedgehog growled and slammed his hands on the table. "We have to go save him, Tails!" Sonic demanded. "If we go up to the Death Egg, we can save Shadow and pound the answers out of Eggman while we're at it."

"But what if it's a trap, Sonic!" Tails countered as he began to panic.

"Sonic, chill out," Mighty interrupted. "If it ends up being a trap like Tails said, then we're all screwed!"

"What if someone stayed behind?" Amy piped up. "Then we could keep an eye on any other problems that turn up on Earth, while you guys go to get Shadow."

"Fine," Sonic quickly agreed. "You stay here, Amy. Then Tails, Mighty, Knuckles and I will go get Shadow and whoop Eggheads ass!"

"Sonic, this isn't a good idea," The young fox interjected. "We may be able to get up there, but the chances of Eggman actually having Shadow on the Death Egg are slim. We have no way of telling if the Doctor isn't in one of his old hideouts. He could be using the Death Egg as another distraction!"

"Then it's a risk we'll have to take, Tails," Sonic retorted. "Shadow is my friend, and I won't fail to save him like the last time."

**Location: Voxili Kingdom, Spagonia**

Flames glistened in the sky, keeping the stars dim in the night. Rows upon rows of houses had been lit ablaze from the attacking troops of Eggman only two hours earlier. Children sat bundled up with their families, some either crying or sleeping, while the armed forces of Voxili stormed through the streets. Several soldiers stayed behind to assist the citizens, while others helped put out the blazing buildings. As black gates slammed shut in front of the royal mansion, which sat soundly beside the river that provided the kingdom with water, the fourteenth king of Voxili stood gloomily in the main courtyard. Shattered statues that once demonstrated the monarch's glory now lay shattered on the ground. The many intricately carved fountains sputtered water like a broken faucet, leaving the courtyard looking utterly barren and disgusting. King Darius the XIV watched as his troops rushed around the small city center at the foot of the valley.

"This world is going to hell," The old man stated, his gleaming yellow eyes reflecting pain and loss. "We've just recovered from the Millennium War, and now this. I'll be surprised if we're not wiped off the map!"

Working to move the debris from the raid, Galaxy Seiryu, the king's youngest son, clapped his hands free of dust and took a spot beside his father. "The kingdom's always managed to recover, father. If those abominations try to come back, the military is prepared to fight back. We have cannons lined up on the east and west borders, and they'll be ready the instant they return."

Galaxy, the most honorable in his fathers eyes, had dark indigo fur, with multiple white markings resembling flames across his arms and legs, and a crescent moon marking across his abdomen. His eye color matched the purple spirals on his black gloves and on the tips of his ears. The fur on his head was styled quite messily, so a few locks of his hair fell over his left eye. Signifying his allegiance to the Royal family, a black chain necklace with a white crystal spiral hung around his neck. Showing his affiliation to the Voxili military, he wore black boots with gold straps over the mid-section.

The king sighed heavily, and regained posture. "Your brother would surely be proud of you, Galaxy," Darius noted, referring to his deceased elder son. "Now go help the medical troops deliver food for the citizens. We need to keep them safe as well."

"Alright," The cat nodded, replying almost distantly.

He remembered that moment like it was yesterday. It haunted his dreams by night, and tainted his thoughts by day, but he could never shake that image of his brother. He had come home to see the old mansion destroyed, with his brother's body skewered on a fence post, with his head separated and pinned to the top of the iron fence. It was as if a vision of hell had been placed on earth, specifically to torture his mind for eternity. They never could figure out who murdered his brother, but his father assumed it was one of the reasons the Millennium War started.

Coughing due to the smoggy air, King Darius strode back inside his home, leaving his son to assist the troops. Galaxy sighed momentarily, and then made his way down the winding pathway that lead to the village at the base of the valley. Slowing down to a steady jog, the royal cat paused at the memorial dedicated to his brother. The gigantic statue seemed to stand guard over the entire kingdom, watching over the people like a guardian angel. The emotions that were once locked away began to leak back into Galaxy's consciousness. All the fear, sorrow and regret flooded over him again, like it did every time he stopped at the memorial.

Galaxy grunted, fighting back his tears, and forced himself to walk away, and make his way down the cobblestone walkway. From the looks of things, the civilians were safe, and all being attended to. However, as the cat continued through to the main market area, he heard the faint crying of a young girl. His ears perked up as he honed in on the sound.

"Hello?" He called out.

Turning around in a circle, he scanned every single shop and cafe. Their white stone exterior seemed dull in the face of disaster. Once again hearing the weeping, Galaxy made his way through an arch in the stone wall in-between two buildings, bringing him into an alleyway. Several towering stacks of crates, filled with fruit and vegetables, stood untouched against the high walls of the buildings around the alley.

Again he heard the cry of the little girl.

Galaxy searched around for any place she could have been hiding, yet found nothing. The four doorways didn't have nearly enough room beneath their small wooden stair cases to hide a pet, let alone a child. The sound of his boots splashing in a puddle filled the air as the gentle thunk of his steps echoed afterward. Making his way out to the next area, which was occupied by a crumbling church, a park and multiple large houses, the crying seemed to get louder. The royal feline quickly dashed in the direction of the child, and bounded over the massive stone wall protecting the destroyed cathedral. The towering building loomed overhead, as Galaxy ran along the narrow pathway, and towards the arching wooden doorway. The cat quickly thrust open the doors and stood in the main hall. Five wide pillars extended upwards to the ceiling, where a massive iron chandelier hung lopsidedly. At the far end of the gigantic room was another set of wooden doors, and then a wide staircase leading to the upper halls. The crying echoed more loudly through the building, coming from the chapel which lay through the doors.

Light seemed to slither through the cracks in the stained glass windows placed high in the walls, shedding light on the moss and weeds growing through the elegant red carpeting. Galaxy swung open the doors and ran along the rows of seats, searching along them for any sights of the lost child. His mind began to spin. Perhaps one of Eggman's goons had kidnapped the child and was keeping it hostage? After finally making it to the front, where a large cross hung against the triangular wall, Galaxy stared at the panel of stained glass resembling "God" reaching out to man, but the chains of hell seemed too tightly wrapped around man to be able to reach the God. It seemed almost sad to Galaxy.

Suddenly, the sound of something clattering to the floor echoed through chapel. The indigo cat twirled around anxiously and scanned the pews. "Are you there little girl?" He asked calmly. "I'm not here to hurt you."

"Sadly," A mechanical voice replied. "I am."

A terrifying realization suddenly washed over Galaxy as a fist collided with his ribcage. The sheer force of the hit left him breathless, and threw him off the front stage of the chapel. The young cat bounced off the ground roughly, and smashed into a pew. The power of the collision snapped the seats, allowing Galaxy to flip backwards and into the bench behind him. His eye sight slowly steadied once more, allowing the royal soldier to catch a glimpse of his attacker.

"So you were the one making those sounds, huh?" Galaxy accused weakly as he eased himself up from the bench. "You're one of Doctor Eggman's lackeys then?"

"The power you possess will be used to benefit the planet Earth," Metal Knuckles explained. "Surrender or you'll be taken by force."

Thinking through the consequences of the options, Galaxy growled to himself. If he fought, he would tear down one of the only remaining landmarks of the kingdom, and also potentially harm a passing civilian. On the plus side he'd have a chance of fighting off one of the invading forces units. On the other hand, if he allowed himself to be captured, it could trigger another war. He knew his nation couldn't handle another war. But that war could potentially eliminate the destruction, and reset another age of peace, assuming the Voxili soldiers could eliminate Eggman. The indigo cat sighed, and in defeat he raised his hands and walked over to the ruby red hunter.

"You are smart as you're records proclaim, Galaxy Seiryu," Metal Knuckles admitted. "Emperor Eggman will see to it that your rewarded."

Binding the cat's hands with an energy coil, Metal Knuckles grabbed hold of the cat, and pulled out the Chaos Emerald. However, Galaxy smiled and gripped the doppelganger's wrist tightly as particles of black energy began to develop in the air around them.

"I never said I was surrendering."

Before the overwhelming light of Chaos Control could consume the two opposing forces, a cloak of black particles spun around Galaxy and Metal Knuckles like a vortex. Then, the particles disappeared into a flash of light, leaving nothing in the cathedral.

**Location: Unknown**

Torrential rain fell from the heavens as the vicious winds brought monumental waves crashing into the dangerous cliff side. A swirling mass of dark energy erupted through the chaos of the storm at hand. White light filtered through the portal as two beings shot out from it. Galaxy flipped away from Metal Knuckles, and jumped away from the edge of the cliff just as the dust-like particles of black energy swirled around him and disappeared. The young cat coughed due to the cold weather, and turned his attention to the recovering android. The dazzling emerald eyes gleamed in the darkness as Metal Knuckles stood to his full height and observed his surroundings. Cracked, black stone pillars stood erect all across the plateau they now stood on.

"I won't let you destroy my home any more than it already is," The royal soldier remarked pridefully. "Give up here, or I'll be forced to get rid of you myself."

Crackling electricity lit up against the dark of the night as rain drops sizzled into vapor as they collided with the powerful energy. The two long blades sparkled with brilliant white light, as Metal Knuckles lunged towards Galaxy. The crimson hunter slashed his weapon through the air gracefully, unleashing a flash of energy screaming towards the cat. However, the royal feline quickly rolled to the right evasively, and as he bounded back to his feet, a collection of black specs of energy swirled around his body, creating a powerful barrier which deflected the attacks of the hunter.

Using his natural reflexes, Galaxy bounded away from the cliffs edge while his barrier quickly dissipated and reformed into a barrage of miniscule black pins. The storm of projectiles smashed against the bulky hunter, forcing it to bring its arms up in defense. However, as the storm of pins ceased, a rotating drill made up of the same black energy collided with the thick crimson armor of Metal Knuckles. Remaining calm and fluent, Galaxy released the drill just as the titanium plating on the hunter's arm snapped, knocking it back a few inches. The cat quickly smashed his heel into the top of the hunters mechanical cranium, and bounded over top of the robot like a preying eagle.

"_If I can disable both of its arm, it'll be left defenseless," _Galaxy thought to himself, searching through the area for a way to keep Metal Knuckles in one place.

Vibrating streaks of white energy tore across the rock surface of the plateau as several attacks made their way towards the cat. With a quick forward roll, the ivory attacks whizzed over top his head and smashed into a rock pillar extending nearly ten feet high, causing it to crumble to the ground. In order to evade the crumbling parts of the structure, Galaxy simply rolled to the left, allowing several chunks of rock to collide with Metal Knuckles. Enraged, the mechanical hunter unleashed a ferocious string of energy attacks in multiple directions, hoping to hit the strategic cat.

"Hydra," Galaxy whispered, and pressed his palms to the ground.

Suddenly, the purple spirals upon the cat's gloves began to shine violently as eight tendrils of black energy pierced the ground in a circle around Metal Knuckles. Purple energy seemed roll off the bends in the tendrils like flame as the ends of the arm-like appendages morphed into flat ends and slapped down onto Metal Knuckles, holding the hunter down forcefully. Galaxy sighed and stood up, wiping a few tufts of hair from his face, and shaking the rain water from his glove.

"You attacked with carelessness, and brought down the pillar," Galaxy explained. "Which in turn sent your targeting systems out of whack. That led you to attack with no direction, allowing me to trap you."

The fizzling light of Metal Knuckles claws finally ceased as its green LED eyes faded into an abyss of black. The young cat sighed and released his attack, allowing the tendrils to disperse into a storm of small black specs. However something didn't feel right to Galaxy.

Something of that caliber built by Eggman couldn't have been that easy to terminate.

Spinning back around to get a second glance at the robot he had just disabled, Galaxy found that the mech had stood back up. A bright flash of light illuminated the plateau just as twin slashes of energy smashed into the cat's chest, throwing him into a nearby pillar. Small pebbles clattered to the rock floor below while Galaxy grunted and stumbled forwards. However, the true Metal Knuckles allowed no time for the cat to recover, and zipped across the cliff-side in a streak of ivory, and smashed its forearm into Galaxy's throat with the force of a speeding car.

Crumbling under the power of the hit, the thick stone monument crumbled, and gave way to the speeding mechanical hunter. Chunks of black rock clattered to the ground and slid along the wet ground while Metal Knuckles pinned the indigo cat up against a rock wall leading up to another section of the cliffs.

A toothy grin spread across Metal Knuckles technological mouth. "Would you like me to explain _my_ strategy?" The hunter taunted.

"I'm listening."

Slowly, black particles began to pop out of thin air all around the two fighters, while more specs floated up from the ground, beginning to surround the opposition like a plague. The rain continued to pelt down on the rock surface, turning it into a slide leading to anyone's demise.

"When you warped us here, it allowed me to generate a cloaking of energy to my armor, and switch my battle settings to defense," the mechanical, and flat voice of Metal Knuckles droned on through the crashing rain. "You thought you had me backed up into a corner like a scared animal. You're the final vessel, and I'm not about to let you slip through my claws."

Drawing on the powers of the Chaos Emerald, a rotating portal of light suddenly opened up around Metal Knuckles, ready to pull him away with Galaxy. However, unwilling to give up so easily, the young cat quickly gripped his hands against the beast in front of him.

"Lupus!"

Viciously tearing across the ground in a plague of black, the energies emitted by Galaxy crawled across Metal Knuckles like a disease. The crimson hunter thrashed about, trying anxiously to rid himself of the black energy that began to eat away at it's armor. In attempts to free itself, Metal Knuckles slashed it's claws through the sky in a panic, creating massive arcs of white light which cut through the pillars like paper. Galaxy grunted in surprise and bounded over top of falling chunks of rock, while also evading random strikes from Metal Knuckles. The sound of metal being torn apart suddenly thundered through the cliff-side, drowning out the falling rain.

Galaxy turned his body around just in time to jump out of the way of a larger than normal slash of energy, and then rolled to avoid another pillar. Amidst his impressive evasive techniques, Galaxy failed to notice the crimson hunter thrusting itself towards him like a bullet. The black energy continued to crawl around it's armor like a disease, but even then Metal Knuckles found the power to bring it's energized claw down on the cat. Thinking quickly and strategically, Galaxy summoned a spiraling cluster of black specs around his wrist like a shield, easily deflecting the white-hot claws. Sparks flew in every direction as a second claw slashed down on the feline, knocking him to the ground as the light of Chaos Control erupted in the darkness, warping the two opponents away.

Falling into a puddle, Metal Knuckles arm sizzled and sparked lifelessly, remaining there like a souvenir for the battle

**Location: Death Egg IV**

Tumbling out of the portal of light came Metal Knuckles, fighting desperately to hold down Galaxy. However, the black particles associated with the cat swarmed around the crimson hunter like a plague, viciously ripping apart its armor like a disease. Rolling away from the cowering robot, the young cat jumped upwards like an acrobat, and landed a mere five feet away. Scanning his surroundings, Galaxy knew he wasn't on Earth anymore, and concluded he had been transported to the strange vessel that had taken off into the sky earlier.

"You're the final vessel?"

Galaxy spun around, finding himself face to face with Doctor Eggman himself. "So you're the man behind all this madness!"

Laughing delightedly, Eggman clapped his hands to call over his service droids, "I am Earth's future ruler. And you my young friend will be the one to help me bring a mechanical peace."

"What are you talking about?" Galaxy retorted, confusion overtaking him. "Don't you see what's happening down there? My people, and the people of the entire world are suffering."

"That's only because the planet's arrogant military insist on wiping out change," Eggman explained. "They fear it, and alienate it. But with the power that you, and a few others, possess, I can leave the world with a perfect image of peace!"

Suddenly, a bone crushing blow collided with Galaxy's head, delivered by a hardly functioning Metal Knuckles. The young cat fell unconscious and crumbled to the floor in a hopeless heap. Doctor Eggman cackled victoriously and made his way to the control room of the Death Egg. He could see everyone on their knees bowing to him now. His face would be on every single building, praising his ingenious works to attain peace, and maintain a stable economy. To reach that vision, however, he'd have to get rid of Sonic and any other that opposed him.

Eggman would eradicate everything that came in the way of his domination.

"_We all have a certain calling, but everyone on this planet has the general purpose to oppose strife. What we do in our daily lives should be a disease to the opposition." ~ General Mayes, Apotos Spec Ops Squad 01 Leader, 1998_

**To be Continued**

**Authors Note~ **Phew! It's done! This took longer than expected to write, but I think it was all worth it. We now have the final vessel, and also a little game set up by Eggman for the Heroes. If you guys have any theories, comments or tips, leave it in a review! Thankyou! Chapter 12 is coming your way sooner than you may expect!

Chapter lesson for today:

Ante Bellum is latin for "before war". (_Ante _meaning before and _bellum _meaning war)


	12. Chapter 12: Ascension

**Violet Dreams**

**Chapter 12: Ascension**

"_In war the brave learn what it means to be broken."_

**Location: Tails Workshop, Mystic Ruins**

The doors to the hangar that once housed the infamous Tornado were now propped open, allowing Tails to run in and out of his workshop to cart out the necessary material needed to reach the Death Egg. Sonic wondered how the young fox would manage to get the small biplane into space without any form of rocket. The young fox finally jumped inside the plane and quickly flipped open a small console, revealing a small blue button. Tails quickly tapped the button, jumped out of the plane, and stood back.

From within the earth below Tails home, three large panels of condensed rock and clay lifted away with the aid of finely tuned hydraulicss. As steam rolled off the edge of the cliff side, and disappeared into the cold air, four massive support towers rose up into the sky. Each structure was easily two hundred feet high. Titanium enforced locks clamped down on the structures at the base of the launch tunnel Tails had constructed, while a gigantic rocket slowly made its way up the support towers. Steam shot off into the air every which way from the working grappling-devices that helped keep the ship in place. Finally, with a booming _clang_, the ship came to a stop.

Sonic blinked in disbelief, staring at the machine Tails had managed to keep underground. The blue hero walked up to the side of one support tower, and stared straight up, noticing the rocket was painted a royal blue with yellow all along it – it matched the Tornado perfectly!

"You really have outdone yourself this time, bro!" The blue hero, Sonic, whistled impressively. "How long have you been keeping this under wraps?"

"Well, I started working on it the summer after Dark Gaia was defeated," Tails explained. "But I only finished it a couple weeks ago."

"How does it work?" Knuckles asked skeptically. "It doesn't look very safe if you ask me."

"By using the power of the Chaos Drives I've been experimenting on," the young fox spoke up, his eyes gleaming at the fruits of his labor. "I created a special power core to harness Chaos energy within the engine room to supply the turbines directly! It's a perfectly clean source of energy, because it doesn't rely on fuel!"

"Hopefully the fat man doesn't notice us," Mighty worried, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"Let's get moving, Tails!" exclaimed the blue hero, eager to reach the space colony. "Shadow's up there waiting!"

"I still think this is a bad idea, dude." Mighty sighed. "What if he isn't there?"

Sonic paused and sighed heavily. He knew that this could turn out to be a very bad idea, but it was a risk he had to take if he wanted to prove to Shadow that he was a friend. Last time they fought together in space, Sonic wasn't able to save Shadow because it was too late for him to make it back out to the atmosphere. Then, after the blue hero found out that Shadow was actually alive, and that he didn't die, Sonic vowed to never let him down again. Never again would he abandon a friend. It was too painful.

"If he isn't there," Sonic muttered sorrowfully, "Then I'll make sure Eggman tells me so I can save him this time."

Earning sympathetic looks from his friends, Sonic made his way into the workshop to gather the materials that Tails had asked him to. With a gentle sigh, Amy quickly followed behind, eager to be there for the blue hero in case he crumbled. The others continued on with their jobs, each coming to a new understanding of the pain and loss Sonic went through the first time Shadow disappeared after the Ark was stopped. They hadn't really understood until now just how painful it might have been to know Sonic failed to save someone.

"Knuckles, can you secure the launch towers?" asked the young engineer as he jumped into the Tornado. "I'm gonna secure the Tornado to the control interface and finish the modifications."

"What should I do?" Mighty asked curiously.

"I need you to make sure the supports are all locked," Tails directed. "Since you're one of the more physically stronger out of us, you can pull the locks in place if some malfunctioned."

"Right."

While the small engines of the trusty biplane ignited, Tails glanced back into his workshop once more, his mind worrying over Sonic. This was the first time he'd ever seen his brother so determined to save someone. The fact that it was Shadow, of all people, surprised him further! As the engines fired up, Tails sped the plane off the runway, and into the sky. Curving around gently, the young fox angled the plane upwards just as he initiated the transformation into the battle mode. The wings shifted smoothly into the X-shape from long before, and the thruster pulsed as it shot the plane faster up along the rocket ship. Clicking on a few icons in his main console, Tails aligned his central boosters so that the grappling systems could secure the plane to the ship safely.

As each hinge locked into place, Tails typed a string of commands into the computer of the plane, which brought up a reinforced cockpit. Suddenly, the seat in the plane unlocked from the interior and dropped down into the main control room of the space ship, allowing Tails to direct everything from the safety of the vessel. As the systems started up, a small dot appeared on the main radar, moving in fast towards the base. Tails blinked and quickly smashed his hand on the intercom button, eager to contact Sonic in the workshop.

"Sonic!" he yelled desperately. "Something's coming, get out here!"

Static filled the other end, until finally he heard Sonic. "What's going on buddy?"

"The radar aboard Tornado picked up something heading our way," Tails explained while watching the dot grow ever closer. "My systems are picking up something very powerful."

"Alright, dude," Sonic replied calmly. "I'll be right out!"

A mighty crack of energy erupted through the gray sky above the Mystic Ruins as a dark blue streak of light swerved down towards the space ship. The hellish crimson eyes of Metal Sonic fixated on the entire area, while his instructions, given by the Doctor, replayed through his central computers. Metal was to lead the heroes to the Death Egg. However, the robot had other plans. The navy blue doppelganger descended through the sky at speeds matching the speed of sound, before finally landing on the ground the exact same moment the blue hero skidded onto the dusty cliff side. Metal Sonic quickly unleashed a powerful punch into the ground, aided by the force of his descent, the impact rippled towards Sonic like a snake, throwing him into the wall of the workshop.

"So we meet again, scrap heap!" Sonic remarked while gritting his teeth in pain from the hit. "Come to finally finish the job?"

"My sickening copy." Metal Sonic scowled. "It isn't your turn until I demolish your incompetent piece of scrap you call a space vessel."

"I'd have to disagree, you out-of-date garbage can!" the blue hero barked back.

Using the electricity built up in the atmosphere, Metal Sonic quickly formed a dancing mass of golden energy in his claw and launched himself towards Sonic. The blue speed demon growled with determination, and shot his fist out into the armor of his doppelganger. Moving swiftly and knocking away the hero's hand with a simple swat of its hand, Metal Sonic grasped the legendary hero's wrist, and with a quick twirl in the direction of the rocket, smashed the fizzling mass of lightning into Sonic's abdomen, shooting him at blinding speeds into a support tower.

A powerful rumble shot through the supports of the Tornado, as Metal Sonic quickly accelerated up into the sky, where the cockpit of the rocket-ship modified plane was located. Elegant, yet dangerous electrical discharges danced across Metal's titanium armor as he readied his attack on the heroes' means of transportation. A support beam toppled over and smashed into the tiny workshop owned by Tails, destroying the living room. Metal's thrusters released, giving off a final thrust of energy to land on the nose of the ship with a Vulcan charged in its claw. Behind the glass of the cockpit, Tails yelped, and quickly started typing commands into the mini computer, eager to kick start the engines. The high-pitch screaming of electricity emanating from Metal's attack seemed to grow as the metallic imposter brought it down into the nose of the shuttle.

However, a split second before the mass of electricity managed to dig into the thick exterior of the Tornado, a powerful ball of blue energy impacted Metal's shoulder, knocking him into the air. Sonic grinned heroically and jumped up, making his way towards Metal. Bounding across the launch station and swerving between singular blasts of electricity, Sonic took one final bound off a support beam, and up towards his look-alike. The blue hero quickly spun in mid-air and delivered a crushing punch to Metal, throwing him towards the ocean.

"I'll hold bucket head off while you get the engines going, bud!" Sonic chirped with a wide grin, and fell down onto the nose of the Tornado. "Let's see who's faster!" the blue hero called out to Metal playfully.

Performing a back-flip off the nose of the space shuttle, the blue hero sprung off a support beam below him, and passed the speed of sound as he rocketed across the ocean surface towards Metal. The navy blue robot shot forward like a bullet, its thrusters emitting a wide jet of energy. Water splashed upwards from the sheer speed of the duo, creating a gigantic wake on either side of them. Sonic swiftly jumped, and as he formed a Sonic Wind in his palm, he spun around and aimed it down at the passing Metal. However, the look-alike mech veered upwards at the last second, and smashed into the blue hero. The Egg Mech sped up, pushing the blue hero higher into the sky at incredible speeds before finally slowing, and throwing the hedgehog away. The vicious doppelganger zipped away and looped around in the sky before smashing a powerful Vulcan attack into the blue hero's stomach.

"Gah!" Sonic howled in pain, smoke fluttering from his abdomen.

Arcs of dancing electricity spiraled around the two combatants, until suddenly the world hero shot down towards the ocean faster than the eye could see. The blue hero smashed violently into a semi-submerged rock in the water, and with the collision his neck snapped back into the hard surface, sending a tremor of pain throughout his entire body. However, with a heart still burning with determination, Sonic forced his broken body back up and got ready to counter attack.

"Gonna have to do better than that bolt-brains!" Sonic called out. "Don't you have any new tricks? Because I sure do!"

Wisps of white and blue energy spun around the hedgehog's body and gathered in his palm, creating a light blue mass of spiraling energy, before suddenly flattening outwards, creating a disk shape. Riding the upwards pull of the tornado around him, Sonic shot upwards with the help of a Sonic Boom, and whizzed through the sky like a bullet towards Metal, the razor-like attack screaming with power in his hand. Metal, however, stood unfazed, and scanned its opponent quietly, hovering right above the attacking hero. Suddenly, the mech threw his arm upwards and swung them downwards, all in one fluid motion. From the heavens, a powerful beam of lightning, energy and wind spiraled down in front of him, and collided with Sonic. The blue hero gasped, and could only release his own attack before colliding with the attack. The mixture attack flashed through the sky and contacted the ground, drilling a massive hole in the earth before disappearing.

Laying dazed and battered on the ground, Sonic rubbed his head, trying to wrap his mind around what had just happened. Had Metal created that? Or was it a coincidence? He didn't know – and part of him didn't want to find out either.

"That's a taste of what the Death Egg IV has in store for this planet," Metal exclaimed calmly. "I'll be waiting for you, hedgehog."

"Hey! Wait a minute!" Sonic called out with anger, but stumbled and fell to the ground unable to walk due to his wounds.

However, before he could do anything, a flash of powerful light wrapped around Metal Sonic like a blanket, taking him away with the power of Chaos Control. With the aid of both Mighty and Knuckles, the blue hero was pulled to his feet and helped over to Tails, who had been calculating the whereabouts of the Death Egg in the atmosphere. Rushing from the Workshop, Amy ran up to Sonic and trapped him in a bone crushing hug, her tears dripping onto his blue fur. Sonic sighed deeply, and returned the embrace, knowing full well the reason for her tears. He felt a slight tug in his heart, as if it were a sort of pain. What would Amy do if he didn't come back alive some day?

Deep inside the confines of his mind, Sonic vowed to himself always to return to Amy. Even if he had to crawl.

Shooting a worried glance at the bleeding burn on Sonic's torso. "Are you okay?" she whimpered.

"I'll be fine, but listen to me Ames," Sonic spoke quietly, while wiping her tears away with his glove. "Keep practicing your smile, okay? When I get back I want that to be the first thing I see." The blue hero grinned reassuringly.

With a slight nod, Amy wrapped her arms around the blue hero once again. "I'll kill you if you don't come back safe," she murmured amidst a croaking voice.

Laughing to himself, Sonic slowly made his way past the destruction that the workshop was left in, and into the rocket where the other three were waiting for him. Finally, he would get his answers. He'd finally end an eternal struggle between his look-alike, cut down a rivalry between Eggman, and ultimately rescue a friend he had failed long ago. Everything lead up to that final moment up in oblivion, and he'd make sure to set everything right.

The heavenly green power core began to pulsate with powerful waves of energy, as the turbines in the Tornado – or rather the Typoon, as Tails called it – began to lift off in a storm of fire and smoke. The titanium-plated support towers seemed to shake unsteadily from sheer power of the ascending Typhoon. Watching from within the safety of the workshop, Amy sighed as the ship lifted higher and higher into the sky, and eventually into the stratosphere. She could only pray that Sonic came home safe, because deep down she knew that he'd stop at absolutely nothing to bring back a friend, even if it meant going to hell and back. The way she saw it, the Death Egg perfectly represented hell. And if Eggman hurt Sonic, she'd make sure to bring down revenge on the old doctor herself.

Like an automated set of workers, hinges and latches began to dismantle themselves, allowing the support towers to fold and slide back down into the containment area they had come from. As the tips of the structures cleared the top of the plateau, the hatches that opened to allow their ascent closed. The palm trees that once surrounded the area returned from their lopsided positions, and life returned to normal. The pale sky continued to swirl with specks of snow, showing that the war was far from over.

**Location: Sleeping Chambers, Aboard the Typhoon**

**Time until Arrival: 2:30**

Sonic groaned to himself and squirmed on the couch he was laying on. The bandages and ointment that Tails had wrapped his torso up with were _very _uncomfortable! However, he soon gave up with tugging at the fixing and sighed as he let his mind wander to recent thoughts that had made themselves frequent in his consciousness.

Staring blankly at the ceiling above him, Sonic fought eagerly to keep himself awake. It must have been the sudden jolt of excitement that brought him to such a groggy state, he had guessed, but he found it increasingly difficult to remain awake. The blue hero resorted to his memories to entertain him, and found it quite amusing. A small grin crept across his face as several flashbacks raced through his mind, as he went back through every memory he had of foiling Eggman's schemes. Back then it had seemed as though it were a simple game. Get from point A to B, and save the day. But he had to wonder if Eggman thought of it the same. He never noticed, until now, the sheer rage that the Doctor would undergo after each defeat. The hero's heart sank at the thought. Sure, he may have seen this whole rivalry thing as a game, but to Eggman it meant much, much more. The old man had always intended on killing him, for whatever reason, he didn't know. It just so happened that with every plan, Sonic was able to keep it at bay and defeat the poor doctor with such ease that it was like a game of cat and mouse.

Before he could fight himself back awake, the darkness crept up on him, and took hold of him as he drifted off into a land of dreams. The dull sounds of the engines drifted away just as he did.

_**Location: Unknown**_

_His body felt numb and weightless. It was as though he were floating in a void, and had nothing to hold onto. Slowly, however, his eyes peeled open and revealed the turmoil around him. Black skies seemed to swirl around in disruption, pushing back against the golden skies to the north. It was like two serpents fighting for dominance. The grassy green eyes trailed over the sky as if he was watching a movie. The darkness was trying to devour the light, like a shark trying to consume a tuna. Particles of golden light rained down around him like a storm of fire. Sonic slowly stood up; how he did it he didn't know. The blue hero wiped at his eyes to regain his bearings, and continued to look around._

_All around him were tall, white pillars with black chains hanging off of them. In between countless structures, Sonic noticed emerald green shrubs and bushes. Then, on top of each pillar Sonic saw a shaft of green light. He wasn't sure what it all meant, and it almost felt overwhelming._

_Then he heard a scream._

_Not the scream of a lost child, but the chilling scream of a monster urging to free itself from a cage._

_With a grunt of fear, the world spun around in a sickening display of all the terror his battles with Eggman had caused little children and unknowing civilians. He felt like throwing up._

_Finally the horizon settled, and he found himself staring at a temple, of sorts. The long pillars went upwards in assorted heights, while the dark chains laced downwards to a single being in the center of a dark hole behind the pillars. Golden light seemed to roll away from its body, as it wept hopelessly. Sonic felt fear just standing around the being, but the fear felt good; he felt safe at the same time. It felt familiar. And so he crept closer, hearing that the crying had turned to a maddening laughter. It wasn't loud, but quiet and gentle._

"_Yo, are you alright?" the blue hero asked generously._

_With a sudden eruption of chaotic light, Sonic fell backwards like a hopeless child. The black chains holding the divine being back snapped into a storm of shadowy particles. Settled on top of him like a lurking predator, the golden being snarled with disgust upon seeing the hedgehog's face._

"_You," it snarled viciously. "What do you need this time, huh?"_

"_Wh-what are you talking about?" Sonic retorted in fear. "What are you!"_

_Slowly the blue hero forced himself to open his eyes, and despite staring into the brilliant golden light, he realized what had attacked him. But that couldn't be possible._

"_Me?"_

"_No, not you, dipshit," it replied harshly._

_The surroundings suddenly dripped away into nothingness, as the powerful grip of the golden being turned into chains holding the blue hero up against a white wall. Everything turned to ivory, with faint splotches of black._

"_But, you're my Super form!" Sonic exclaimed knowingly._

"_Wrong again," the golden being corrected and walked up to Sonic. "The day you decided to tap into the powers of the Chaos Emeralds, something happened inside your psyche. An infant born upon the greed of power. That infant is me. Every time you tapped into the Chaos Emeralds and drained them of their energies, because you were too scared of the consequences if you hadn't used your own power, I grew. I grew until I turned into your image of justice."_

_Sonic's breathing picked up, as the face of the being morphed into his. But it was twisted with rage._

"_You think you deserve this power, blue one?" Super Sonic growled. "What makes you so deserving of it? You use my powers like water, expecting it to always be there! You're dependent on this power, like it's your drug!"_

"_I have no idea what you're talking about!"_

"_You think you can just use this whenever you damn well please?" the beast growled. "Just you wait, some day you'll crumble because these chains of mine will be gone!"_

_The super-charged hedgehog before Sonic raised up his wrists, showing the fuming black chains tightened around his wrists. Then, just as the golden hedgehog began to speak again, everything shifted and spun into nothingness. It became darker than anything on Earth, and as quiet as the confines of the mind. Sonic could feel the burning of the cuffs around his arms, and began to tug at them with all his might. But it was futile._

_The more he tugged, the tighter they became. Eventually, he felt his arms being yanked behind him. Finally, a ghostly blue light lit up in the distance like a fire on a pedestal. He watched the fire light up all around him, in a circle it seemed. Then, at the far end of the circle he saw a shapeless figure made of shadow. Its pulsing body lurched and jumped like the flames as it began to get closer. Sonic's breathing picked up as he began to panic. He fought against the chains binding him to... he didn't even know! The creature crept closer, as a low gurgling filled the air. Then screams erupted all around the blue hero. They were deafening, and horrid. They were demonic, and evil._

_The creature finally made its way in front of Sonic, and in one swift motion roared like a bat out of hell. Its mouth stretched open, revealing an abyss down to its innards_

**Location: Control Room, Death Egg IV**

"Metal, do you think I wouldn't notice your disobedience?" Eggman scowled as the navy blue robot entered the room. "You went against my orders and attacked Sonic at your own will, when I specifically told you otherwise!"

"You built me to exterminate him, Doctor."

"My orders go above your primary goal." the doctor snarled angrily. "You will have your chance, Metal. Next time you disobey me, I'll be sure to turn you into a clean up droid!"

"Understood, _master_."

**Location: Outside the Death Egg IV**

Sonic screamed in horror and jerked upwards to a seated position. He looked around frantically, his chest heaving in and out trying to supply his lungs with enough air. His mind raced with images from his nightmare. Finally, Mighty knocked on the door frame, almost awkwardly.

"Dude, you alright?" he asked concernedly. "I heard the scream from down the hall."

Sonic sighed, and finally nodded quietly. "Yeah, I'm good," the blue hero replied.

"You sure? You better get yourself pumped up, cause we're here."

"_This nation is unlike any other. A man can rob from a national bank, and then ten years later administer a church sermon.__That's because the human nature yearns for redemption." ~ King Darius Seiryu the XIV, 2006_

**Authors Note~ **Sorry about the wait everyone! Hope you're all still with me! If you have any comments, theories or tips, please them 'em in a review!


	13. Chapter 13: Moments in Oblivion

**Violet Dreams **

**Chapter 13: Moments in Oblivion**

"_War is where anarchy is born."_

**Location: Aboard the Typhoon**

**Time until Arrival: 00:01**

"Do you think he's gonna just let us waltz right in?" Mighty pondered, watching as the guard robots continued on their duties.

"It sure seems like it," came Sonic's astounded reply. "That's a first."

Scanning the outer walls of the space colony, Tails navigated the Typhoon around the outer edge of the structure slowly and carefully. Finally as they rounded to the northern half of the Death Egg, the young fox noticed a large hatch slide open, almost as if it were welcoming the heroes into a banquet of some sort. Lights flashed and waved through the dark abyss of space, as shiny and most likely toxic liquids floated through the small creases of the colony like rivers. Slowly the young fox steered the high powered space craft into the hangar that the hatch had exposed, and landed the craft on the docking bay as the holograms aligned on the decks instructed.

"Wow, Eggman sure went overboard this time," Knuckles mumbled in awe at the technology.

Within the fortress itself, fountains and gigantic statues had been erected, and sure enough they were all of the Doctor. More streams of the strange green liquid snaked around the hangar room, and into the only doorway that had been constructed at the far end of the warehouse. Tails tapped a button on the Typhoons interface, which brought down the main loading bay. From within the space ship, the group made their way into the hangar, looking around suspiciously. Finally a recording began to boom through the hangar.

"Welcome you insolent pests," Eggman snickered over the intercom. "As you can see, this is the fruit of all my investments and work! I welcome you four to the Death Egg IV! Now if you'd please continue onwards through the doorway before you, and we'll get this show on the road."

Tails sighed. "I think our best bet is to head that way and hope for the best guys."

"Something's telling me Shadow is here," Sonic explained. "We just have to beat our way up there and we're home free."

"And somethin's tellin' _me, _that this is crazy," Knuckles complained.

"Why does this place smell like french fries and motor oil?" Mighty wondered out loud, as he ran behind the rest of the group into the doorway.

Entering the darkness of the corridor, it was instantly lit up by the overpowering light of the strange radioactive liquid snaking through the walls beside them. Occasionally a window would reveal itself, allowing the heroes to see a glance at the beautiful planet that the Death Egg orbited. It all seemed so surreal. Back on the Ark, neither of the heroes had the chance to stop and sight see, but now that they were up in space again, it was almost impossible not to sneak a look at the beautiful marble hung lifelessly in the vacuum of space. Suddenly the long window disappeared, and the heroes made their way into a short corridor filled with lights and crystal, and finally into a room lined with windows.

Each of them looked around in awe, as they witnessed shooting stars fly all around them like balls of fire. The dome like room had to be at least forty feet high and a hundred feet across, leaving plenty of room for whatever Eggman had planned. The four heroes came to a stop in the center of the dome, awaiting the definite appearance of Eggman. He wouldn't just let them come right to his front door without some kind of challenge.

Would he?

Finally, a hatch in the floor slung open like a fly swatter, and smashed against the tile flooring like a giant slamming its foot on the ground. The windows lining the entire dome shook lightly from the impact, and then settled as the smoke and mist eased out of the hole that the hatch had concealed. Over the loud speakers a circus like drum roll began to play as the lights suddenly cut out. Two spot lights rolled over the floor like the opening act to a stage performance and finally landed on the hole as a platform raised up from the depths. Standing quietly and perfectly still on the elevator was Metal Knuckles. For now he remained deactivated and lifeless, but they were sure that would change soon.

"Now if Knuckles could wait here, and the rest of you three continue on," Eggman's voice explained over the loud speakers. "That would be perfect! You wouldn't wanna miss your chance to save Shadow, would you dear Sonic? Besides, I'm near positive that with the wounds Metal left you with, you won't be very eager to fight. I simply want to talk to you alone, hedgehog. Just me and you, old adversary."

"Go ahead guys," Knuckles grinned and pounded his namesakes together pridefully. "I'll smash up Eggman's toy and catch up with you."

"Don't let this hunk of metal push you around, Knucklehead!" the blue hero exclaimed and disappeared down the next pathway with the others.

The scarlet echidna grunted with annoyance, and walked up to the unmoving machine, and inspected it. He had to give props to the old doctor for getting the robot looking so close to him. If it weren't for the titanium exterior, someone could easily mistaken it for him. However, the two blades protruding from its fists might set someone off first. Growing impatient, the crimson guardian roared and reeled his fist back, eager to get the fight over with. However, a split second before the echidna's spiked fist clobbered the piece of machinery, Metal Knuckles easily ducked down and smashed its mighty fist into the guardians stomach, knocking him backwards.

"About time!" he snickered, and cracked his neck. "You were starting to bore me!"

"Doctor Eggman's orders are to hold you off," the android spoke, its mechanical mouth forming into a sick grin. "But I haven't been able to push my new upgrades yet!"

"I'm not holding back," Knuckles announced, and rotated his arms to warm up. "So if you're just another pawn of the Doctor's, back off!"

"We'll keep it our little secret then," Metal Knuckles grinned maliciously. "I won't hold back either!"

Knowing full well he had to catch up with the others, Knuckles quickly rushed towards the mechanical atrocity, and threw his fist forwards with all his might. The android quickly skidded backwards with the aid of its thrusters, oblivious to the miniscule explosions erupting from the echidna's fist. Within the blink of an eye a massive ball of flame swallowed the hunter. The crimson guardian quickly jumped through the flame of his attack, and as it settled, the smoke curled up against the glass interior. The mechanized rival slashed its claw through the ground, effectively rotating its body around and onto its feet. Sparks jumped up from the titanium along the hunters feet scraping a long the metal flooring.

Using the velocity of the treasure hunter's attack, Metal Knuckles quickly lunged to the right and ignited its thrusters to full power. A burst of bright white energy shot the android away from the glass wall behind him, and zipping along the perimeter like a hawk circling its prey. A deafening _crack _pounded against the barrier keeping the fighters from the deathly vacuum of space, showing that Metal Knuckles was now moving faster than sound. Knuckles growled with agitation as his eyes darted across the edge of the dome, only catching a glimpse of the white flash that his opponent turned into. With each passing of a tile of glass, the entire dome rattled as if it were about to shatter. Finally, the android slid to a brief stop, allowing a rip tide to smash against the walls in front of it as it reignited its thrusters and headed straight towards an oblivious Knuckles.

The powerful hunter quickly slashed its claws through the air like a hot knife in butter, creating a multitude of white bursts of energy. The screaming flashes of light tore across the ground, and finally collided with Knuckles as one. Hitting him with such force, Knuckles yelped in pain as he flew upwards and smashed into the dome. Cracks slithered away from the point of impact as Metal Knuckles quickly darted away from the ground like a missile. Reacting almost instantaneously, the crimson guardian quickly smashed his namesakes into the glass and swung himself around and delivered a crushing punch into Metal Knuckles shoulder. A shockwave exploded outwards from the punch, creating even more cracks in the dome. Metal Knuckles spun away from the guardian, and smashed into the ground in a smoking heap as the violet eyed echidna roared and jumped away from the wall and descended upon the vicious creation.

"_If I can land this hit perfectly, then I can catch up with the others," _Knuckles thought.

With his fist drawn back, and ready to strike, the smoke on the ground began to swirl away from Metal Knuckles like a tornado. White energy radiated away from the edges of the androids claws as it crouched down ready to strike Knuckles like a samurai. A sudden flash of turquoise erupted across the floor of the dome as the ruby doppelganger launched off the tiled ground, effectively tearing it apart in the process. Knuckles roared and drove his fist forward, as small orbs of flame fizzled away from his glove. When his fist contacted the androids chest, a series of powerful eruptions once again shook the dome, knocking the Egg-creation back. As each of the fighters neared the ground, Knuckles dove closer to the android, and delivered another explosive punch into his doppelgangers chest a split second before the mech collided with the ground. An enormous ball of flame shot upwards, as full panels of glass fell to the ground and shattered around the battling hunters.

Electricity danced across the dome, as the images of shootings stars and the planet earth faded. The holograms disappeared, showing the numerous holes that were now present in the black and green walls. Knuckles sighed and stood up from the wreckage of his attack, and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"That coulda been close," he murmured.

Suddenly a flash of brilliant light captured the echidna's attention just before a storm of white-hot slashes tore at him from every angle.

**Location: Preservation Chamber, Death Egg IV**

Having slowed down to a steady walk, the remaining three heroes made their way down the long winding corridors, and up another flight of stairs. Within the stairs, lime green liquid seemed to trail down into the core of the vessel like blood. Tails had explained earlier that it might have been the energy source that powered the entire structure. As they made their way past a labeled doorway, Mighty whimpered with fear. Everything seemed like a horror movie, and it felt like any moment now something would pop out and carry them off to its layer. Tails kept telling him that his imagination was just going crazy because of the stress. Sonic on the other hand remained quiet and determined to get to the Doctor. Slowly they turned another corner, but stopped dead in their tracks.

Two rows of large glass cylinders extended up to the ceiling of the narrow pathway. Each container had been constructed to preserve a body, each of which floated lifelessly within thick green liquid. The heroes gulped with fear, but also disgust. Eggman was really turning into a serious threat. Were these prisoners, or some messed up new experiment of his?

Sonic walked up to the vessel closest to him, and looked inside at the young girl inside. He seemed almost entranced by the ice blue fur over her body. But he was mostly curious with the steel device wrapped around her head. It looked like binoculars, but clamped around her face and to the back of her head and down her neck. The blue hero turned around to look at the many other bodies, finding four other individuals with the same contraption over their heads. It looked like they were all dead.

Suddenly everything began to shake an opening across from the fifth in the line of cylinders opened up. Another container slid down gently, with another body within it swaying in the liquid lifelessly.

"We better hurry, Sonic," Tails informed, earning a nod of agreement from his older brother.

"Shouldn't we try and free them?" questioned Mighty with a concerned look on his face.

"By the looks of it, there's not much we can do for them right now," Tails sighed with regret. "It's a bit late for that."

With an apologetic look, Mighty turned to the vessels once more before rushing out of the next doorway behind Sonic. Dust and pebbles clattered to the floor within the preservation chamber, as a vicious rumble shook the entire northern section of the Death Egg. Lights suddenly flashed brighter, as they hummed louder against the quiet of the base. Arcs of electricity leaped away from each light fixture, as if arms eager to reach out and grab a hostage. Then, as soon as the power surge had come, it disappeared, leaving the lights to power down to their dimly lit states.

**Location: Observatory, Death Egg IV**

Metal Knuckles flew across the floor in a burst of ivory, as its two claws lit up once again, ready to strike. Metal Knuckles thrust its blades forwards, intent on severing the treasure hunter's head on impact, but came up short as the crimson echidna grappled the white-hot blades tightly, and despite the fabric of his gloves burning away, and the claws sinking into his skin, Knuckles threw the android into the far wall.

Dust and debris shot out from the point of collision, shrouding the hole that the mech had created. Another bright flash of light beamed out of the hole, as another swarm of white arcs slide across the ground and towards Knuckles. With a grunt of surprise, Knuckles jumped upwards to avoid the first batch of slashes and then thrust his fist forwards to release a string of explosions from his punch. The slashes collided with the ball of energy, creating an even greater explosion. Falling through the smoke, Knuckles noticed the emerald eyes of his doppelganger and drew his fist back as he descended over top of Metal Knuckles. The clawed echidna smashed his powerful fist into the torso of the ruby mech, driving its body into the ground with an explosive punch. The direct force of the hit blew away every shard of glass into the titanium walls, shattering them into bits.

Kicking the Guardian away into the air, Metal Knuckles quickly popped back up to its feet and caught the echidna's ankle. The doppelganger ignited its thrusters and spun around all within a split second of catching its opponent, and then threw Knuckles across the dome like a rock, whom bounced off the ground once, creating a crater, and smashed into the dome's wall.

A shaft of brilliant white energy shot upwards and into the highest part of the observatory, and then twisted into nothingness. Using the release of light as a distraction, Metal Knuckles released a relentless barrage of white slashes from its claws. Knuckles grunted heavily and pulled his arms up in front of his face just before the robot's attack sent him bouncing across the ground into the far wall of the dome. Glass shattered around him, as smoke rolled upwards away from the scorch marks on his forearms. Groaning and biting his lip in pain, Knuckles forced himself back up a split second before the crimson doppelganger appeared in front of him and ready to attack. Metal Knuckles swung its arm downwards, leaving a blurs of white light behind as its claws sunk into Knuckles' left shoulder.

"You're pretty damn stubborn, y'know!" Knuckles grumbled through gasps of pain.

"What makes you say that, fleshbag?"

"If you were a _good _copy of me, then you'd know that I'll win no matter what," Knuckles remarked. "After-all, it's in my blood!"

The stench of burning flesh suddenly wafted through the air as Knuckles roared and grabbed the white-hot weapons of his adversary. The fabric of his gloves burnt up and fell to the ground in pieces as the Guardian heaved the weapon out of his body and slammed his usable arm into the mechanical copy. Bursts of fire swallowed Metal Knuckles up as he slid backwards from the force of the hit. Blood dripped to the ground and formed a puddle under Knuckles feet, but he refused to back down. The scarlet echidna dashed towards the battered doppelganger, his fist glowing with flames. With the aid of its thrusters, Metal Knuckles spun back around to face its opponent just as Knuckles drove his fist into the robot's core area. A powerful eruption of fire and energy burst forth from the impact, throwing the Egg-creation into a wall.

Allowing no time for the mechanized fighter to recover, Knuckles mustered up all the energy he could and jumped towards Metal Knuckles, his fist once again drawn back and ready to strike. Anticipating the attack, however, Metal Knuckles unleashed a powerful burst of energy from his thrusters, shooting him away from the wall and towards the Guardian. A collection of powerful embers began to flicker away from Knuckles fist , as he threw his fist forward like a meteor. The doppelganger quickly evaded the attack and slashed its claws through Knuckles' torso, slicing through his flesh as if it were paper. The blood staining Metal Knuckles claws quickly evaporated, causing steam to cloud the Guardian's vision. With a vicious punch to Knuckles' torso, the mech swiped its arm through the air, creating a hellish swarm of white streaks of light. The swarm of energy collided with Knuckles, pushing him to the ground fast and harder.

Cracks jumped away from the impact of the echidna, as his head slammed back into the solid ground a split before it crumbled and fell inwards with him. Not expecting the sudden collapse of the dome, Metal Knuckles became caught in a falling piece of metal and cement, as it pulled Metal Knuckles down into the dark abyss below the observatory.

Falling flat on the tiled floor below, Knuckles howled out in pain as his arm became twisted around his torso. A loud _snap _echoed throughout the laboratory he had fallen into. Next, Knuckles screams of fiery agony filled the room, as the white-hot pain of his arm being broken filling his nervous system.

Unaware of the mass amounts of debris falling down around him and burying Metal Knuckles, the Emerald Guardian began to bite his lip and attempt to squirm his way free of the steel girders around him. His violet eyes darted around to find a safe way out, as he took note of the falling slabs of cement angled up against the hole in the observatory. The scarlet echidna clamped his eyes shot from the pain in his arm as he stood up, the pure, white bone protruding out of his bicep. The echidna fighter grunted and forced himself to climb out of the wreckage, but failed to see the quivering bits of debris behind him. Then, like a demon emerging from hell, Metal Knuckles jumped through the fallen cement and metal. Knuckles instantly spun around just in time for the doppelganger to pin Knuckles to a chunk of cement.

Chunks of the doppelgangers armor had by now been either cracked or torn entirely off. It looked like Frankenstein to Knuckles. The circuitry beneath the titanium plating of its outer layers shone a brilliant green every so often, as lime-green liquid dripped down over its exposed engine work and AI computer.

"You lose," Metal Knuckles scowled. "There's no way of escaping without tearing apart the muscle in your right arm."

"Then kill me, you abomination!" howled Knuckles, as electricity began to dance around his hand, causing the blood dripping down his arm to boil and turn to steam.

"As you wish," the crimson doppelganger acknowledged, and readied its other arm to strike. "You've been the first to push me to 80% of my capacity."

"Then allow me to be the last as well!"

Using his usable arm to drill a punch directly through the arm that had wedged itself in his shoulder, Knuckles smashed the joints to Metal Knuckles entire limb. The crimson echidna quickly delivered another punch into its torso, sending it flying into the air. As the doppelganger descended to the ground with the aid of its thrusters, Knuckles grunted in severe pain as he pulled the sparking blades from his shoulder, allowing the blood to spill onto the steel floor beneath him. The young echidna grinned painfully and threw the limb into the darkness of the laboratory turned battlefield. Sneering with disgust, Metal Knuckles jolted forwards in a flash of light, and readied its claws for one final attack.

Slinging his arm up to guard himself, Metal Knuckles claws slid across his shoulder, slicing deep into the flesh. Knuckles clenched an eye shut in pain, but forced himself to drive his spiked namesakes forcefully into the doppelganger's chest, throwing it to the ground. From the sheer power and force of the blow, Metal Knuckles bounced off the ground, and back up into the air giving Knuckles the chance to swing another punch into its already shattered armor, launching the doppelganger into a slab of concrete on the opposite side of the room.

Knuckles raised his burnt hand up above his head, as electricity surged up his arm, and around his palm. Golden light suddenly flashed to life within the echidna's open hand, as a continuous flow of dancing power swiveled around his arm and collected into a shimmering mass of energy. The echidna roared with eagerness, watching as the crimson hunter grew closer. Finally, from within the mass of uncontainable electrical energy, erupted a shaft of fizzling yellow light. Steam billowed away from Knuckles hand, as the white fabric of his glove tore apart and melted away from the sheer heat of his attack.

Heaving his entire being forward, and releasing the arrow of pure lightning, Knuckles roared out one final time. The shaft of energy zipped away from his palm. The crimson android attempted to redirect his thrusters but it was simply too late. No matter how hard it tried, it could never match the speed of lightning, and it met the attack head on. As the raging shaft of energy tore across the darkness, it exploded outwards in a vicious storm of blue and yellow electricity. The voltage of the attack kick started every electronic device in the observatory, powering up every single light and computer. As each light flashed on, the crack of thunder echoed through the entire room, shattering the remaining glass panels into small shards. The pebbles floated upwards from the sheer magnetic force, as the dust spiraled away from the glowing shaft now implanted in the mechs central AI computer.

As quick as it had struck, the shaft of light disappeared. With it, all the lights and computers faded out as well, allowing the sparking heap of destroyed technology that was once Metal Knuckles to fall to the ground. Smoking from every single joint and part, the computers within ceased function.

"And that was the power of the blood running through my veins," Knuckles mumbled victoriously. "I also like to call that my Thunder Arrow."

"Curse...Curse...Curse...Curse," the word seemed loop on forever from the robot, until finally it sputtered the final word. "Yoooou..."

With fading vision, Knuckles staggered slightly and then stumbled to the ground onto his back. The echidna heaved in heavy breaths of air, as his good arm wrapped itself around the deep cut on his abdomen.

**Location: Core of the Death Egg**

Walking along a narrow pathway, which was suspended over a circular pit which led to the masses of toxic green liquid, Eggman grinned as he held a glowing crystal sphere in his hand. The sphere seemed to radiate flares of purple as sparkling rings of black and white light wrapped around it periodically. The sphere was only about the size of a tennis ball, but through extensive research, Eggman knew that this small crystal was the key to his success. These small orbs were the key to the ancient Echidna rulers military power.

Constructed like the Cannons Core room aboard the Ark, Eggman walked up to the center panel of the computer. The pathway he had walked over slowly retreated back to the main platform, as three panels of crystal infused titanium swung around the backside of the control panel, enclosing the doctor in with the machine. The old doctor tapped a series of buttons, which revealed a hidden compartment with seven separate creases, six of which were occupied by similar spheres. The doctor set the sphere inside its own spot gently, watching as the artifact shone with an almost heavenly light. Finally a piece of metal slid back over the compartment, as a seventh light over top of the panel lit up, making a _ding _in the process.

"With the final Twilight Key, I'll be able to rip open the portal to the Gate," he murmured to himself amidst his quick typing. "Then I'll finally have the weapon the precursor's locked away, and bring the world to its knees!"

"_Take delight in these cities, my friends. Because when the claws of the end tear us apart, we'll lose it all." ~ __Lincoln McHolm_ _, President of the United Federation, 2008_

**Authors Note~ **Sorry for the incredibly long wait everyone! I've been really busy with school, work and in general, life! I hope you're all still followin' me! If you have any theories, comments or tips, leave 'em in a review! :D


	14. Chapter 14: Feed the Machine

**Violet Dreams**

**Chapter 14: Feed the Machine**

"_It is only the dead who have seen the end of war."_

**Location: Training Grounds, Death Egg IV**

In a panic, the three heroes ran into the next massive section of the Death Egg. Unlike the observatory they had left Knuckles in, this room seemed to take on the looks of a Colosseum, with holographic panels of light siding the entire perimeter of the circular stadium. Watching as the two blast doors leading the way in and out of the training area closed, the trio grunted with discouragement, and turned to look up as a cage formed of energy began to descend upon them.

Suddenly the chains holding the cage up snapped, allowing the cell to plummet to the ground.

The trio quickly scattered just in time for the cage to smash to the ground where they once were. Dust clouded around the crackling cage like a cloak hiding a monster from its unsuspecting prey. Coughing from the debris in the air, Tails twirled his namesakes just enough to blow away the shroud, allowing the team visibility once more. The trio regrouped around the cage, and watched as the bars slid down into the ground, allowing whatever was inside freedom. Mighty gulped with uneasiness and watched as the abomination powered up

"It looks as though your thick-skulled guardian hasn't regrouped with you yet," Eggman stated with amusement. "No matter. This next challenge is for Mighty. So if you'd be so kind to leave, Tails and Sonic."

"Cut the games, Doctor!" the blue hero hollered impatiently. "Where are you? Or are you too afraid to face me this time!"

An eerie laugh filled the loud-speakers in the room, responding to the blue hedgehog's comment. "Far from the truth, blue pest. You and I shall have our final match, but first you must make yourself worthy to see the key to your demise!"

"It's alright guys, I got this one," Mighty reassured with a smile. "I have a feeling Shadow is up here, so go get him and we can leave this creepy place!"

"Alright, dude," Sonic nodded. "But don't let this thing push you around."

"Don't go overboard," Tails stated and made his way to the opening door.

"I'll be fine guys!" Mighty yelled after them, unusually happy. "I haven't gotten in a good brawl for awhile!"

"Since your so confident, traveler," the voice of Eggman echoed. "Let's see how well you fare against the face of the one you couldn't save!"

Flashing across the visual processor of the robot sitting the cage, the face of a young squirrel with orange fur flickered to existence. Mighty's face fell pale as he stared at the image with a broken heart and sick stomach. The squirrels face was lifeless and blank, with eyes void of emotion or light. The peaceful armadillo watched in horror as the squirrels mouth opened slowly to speak, allowing blood to leak down his chin and onto the metallic structure of the EX Joker. In the background, Mighty could hear Eggman's laughing, but his mind was focused on the image before him. Was this a trick?

Finding the power to move his mouth, Mighty began to whimper. "Ray...?" he whispered while tears began to drip down his cheeks. "I-I'm so sorry..."

"You didn't come back like you promised, Mighty!" The squirrel yelled in an almost distorted voice. "You left me in the prison cell with both of my legs broken!"

"I couldn't come back!"

"Why? Because you're a coward?"

"I was taken prisoner! I wanted to come back!"

Tears had began to flow down Mighty's cheeks, as they dripped to the ground like rain. The young fighter sunk to his knees and balled his hands into fists against the rock flooring. If he could have it any other way he would have saved his best friend. He was going to go back and get him, but it was too late by the time he escaped.

"Ever wonder how long it takes someone to die when they're sitting in a prison cell?" Eggman's voice returned. "You better hurry, Mighty."

Catching onto the hint, the armadillo's eyes grew wide at the thought of being able to actually find his long lost friend aboard this vessel. Was Eggman being truthful? Did he actually have Ray locked up somewhere on the Death Egg? Sniffling and wiping away the tears in his eyes on his gloves, Mighty stood up confidently, with a enraged look on his face. He scanned over the robot once again, this time noticing that his friends dead face had been just a simple illusion. The EX Joker was a lightly armored robot. It had much more thrusters built into its legs, arms and back than any other robot built by Eggman. It's left shoulder took on the armor design of an ancient Japanese Samurai, and it's face had a demonic jester appearance. Jutting out of its forehead, Mighty noticed to long horns that seemed to be made of actual bone, rather than some form of metal.

"Now I know why Eggman brought me into this," Mighty murmured to himself. "He wants to toy with me. Well I'll show him that someone should _never _mess with regrets!"

With a powerful burst of light, two sharp blades wrapped in blue energy slid out from over top of the EX Joker's hands, as it moved into it's battle stance.

The EX Joker energized its unusually powerful thrusters and shot at Mighty like a rocket. Anticipating the jester styled robot, Mighty grunted and slapped the mech's destructive sword away, and flipped over top of the android with ease. A zig-zagging pattern of green patterns flashed in the spot that the EX Joker once occupied, when suddenly the final EX robot spiraled from the sky with its energy blades creating a ring of light around its body. With a grunt of discomfort, Mighty used his energy to add more density to his skin, making it rock as hard just a split second before the laser-swords sliced across his arms. As the weapons slid away from his body, the young armadillo quickly grappled one blade and used his super strength to throw the Joker up into the air like a rag doll. Using whatever time he had to attack, Mighty sent himself hurtling towards the EX Joker, his fist glowing with green light as he tailed up behind the mech.

Twin grapples attached to a rope of blue energy suddenly shot out of the androids torso, and latched onto opposite ends of the Colosseum. With a quick burst of energy from its thrusters, the EX Joker released its left grapple and swung away from Mighty's line of attack. With it's spectacular agility and aerial abilities, the EX Joker rebounded off the wall like a living being and burst through the air with another flash from its boosters. Gasping with surprise, the armadillo turned just in time to see the Joker's powerful fist smash into his chest. Within a blur of black and red Mighty smashed into the far pillar of the Colosseum, and fell to the ground.

Forcing himself back to his feet, Mighty grunted in pain as he clutched his shoulder and ripped out a chunk of metal. With a wince, the black armadillo clutched the impalement, attempting to cease the oozing blood as best he could. However the EX Joker gave him no chance to recover and sped towards the hero in a flash of blue and smashed its fist into Mighty's arm, allowing its blade to impale his muscle. The robot quickly heaved upwards and effectively swung the young traveler up into the air, leaving him vulnerable. The deceptive robot activated its thrusters suddenly, and shot upwards in a streak of light and smashed its fist into Mighty's chest, throwing him higher into the air. With blood leaking past his teeth, Mighty grunted and shifted his body around just in time to block a second punch from the robot, and in return delivered his own powerful blow to the hunters mechanical chest.

From the force of Mighty's fist, the titanium plate over the EX Joker's core suddenly indented. Then a powerful shockwave kicked up a storm of dust from the ground as the robot shot down through the air and into the ground. Using the towering pillars all around him, Mighty descended down from his position in a circle, bounding away from the pillars like an acrobat. Just before the EX Joker managed to recover and stand up, the powerful armadillo spun around mid air and snapped his leg out, and smashed his heel into the Joker's defending arm. Mighty transferred his forward motion in a spin, and flipped over top of the robot as he extended his fist down into a crushing punch against the Joker's left shoulder. Cracks quickly slithered outwards from Mighty's simultaneous blows, throwing the robot off balance.

"Now I got you!"

The instant Mighty touched the ground behind the EX machine, he snapped out his right leg in a crushing kick, but the EX Joker disappeared once again. In a flash of zig-zagged green light, the android reappeared and slashed its twin energy blades across Mighty's back. With a burst of light, a surging mass of energy exploded from the tips of the swords, and launched Mighty rolling across the ground. The armadillo bounced off the rock flooring and then threw a pillar. Segments of rock smashed to the ground as the pillar crumbled from the impact. Like a predator chasing its prey, The Joker zipped towards Mighty, closing the distance between the two in a split second. Attempting to recuperate from the previous hit, Mighty staggered forwards out of the debris, but the moment he regained his focus on the enemy, the EX Joker swung its powerful metal fist into the armadillo's abdomen, launching the hero into the air. Being so close to the wall, Mighty smashed into the wall, and bounced away from it in a cloud of dust, giving the Joker the perfect opening.

_I can't let Ray down again._

A crushing blow from the EX Joker collided with Mighty's body once again, launching him across the arena, and into a pillar. Mighty yelped in pain as an audible crack sounded through the air, and then fell forwards onto the ground. Blood leaked from his left arm from the previous wound he had taken, and his chest heaved in and out heavily, as he wheezed, trying to breathe. Jutting out of his side, a pure, white bone arced through his flesh, with the tip dripping blood onto the ground.

How was he supposed to beat this thing if he could barely even stand?

His heart pounded against his chest, almost as if it were up in his throat. The same zig-zagging pattern of data appeared in front of Mighty, giving way for the mechanical warrior. Easing his head upwards, Mighty groaned in defeat just as the Joker wrapped its robotic fingers around his throat like a vice, and hoisted him up into the air. The sudden change in his position caused his rib to twist upwards, bringing even more pain than before. Through glassy, and wet eyes, Mighty stared at the flickering "face" of the EX Joker, as it morphed back into that of Ray.

"You really _have _lost your touch, Mighty," Ray frowned disappointingly. "Is this the power that was supposed to save me?"

"Ray..." Mighty choked through tears and blood, "I'm really am sorry I didn't come back to get you. I was taken prisoner by GUN before I got the chance to make it to upper level of the base. I wanted to come back, I really did!"

"The Mighty I knew would have fought his way back!"

"I tried, but so much has happened!" He croaked as the grip of The Joker tightened, but still he forced himself to speak, "I thought I'd have another chance when I was taken prisoner by Eggman and taken to Mazuri!"

"I'll never forgive you!"

With tears dripping past his eyes, and down onto the robotic jester's arm, a green light illuminated the armadillo's hand. Summoning up every ounce of strength he had left, Mighty tightened his right hand up into a tight ball and shifted his skins density once again to that of rock.

"I promise I'll come get you this time Ray!"

With a thundering crack, Mighty's fist smashed into the chest plate of the EX Joker, crushing it in on itself. A powerful green vortex spun away from Mighty's fist, and quickly disappeared as the grip on his throat released and the Egg-Fighter slid backwards before being overtaken by the sheer force of the punch and spun away through the air head over heels. Rock and metal bits clattered to the ground as the EX Joker smashed through several pillars and across the ground. Drained and defeated, Mighty sunk to his knees, and fell onto his back, heaving for air. The young armadillo winced in pain as he grasped his side. Mighty looked upwards at the dark ceiling of the Death Egg, listening for the EX Joker.

"I am going to save you this time, Ray." he murmured to himself.

Groaning in agony, Mighty grabbed the bone piercing his flesh, and using the same ability to harden his skin before, his rib suddenly slid back into his body like jelly.

"That's gonna have to do 'till Tails can fix me up."

Slowly the young warrior forced himself to his feet. He could feel his rib shifting inside his body, and walking was only beginning to shift it around within his ribcage. Mighty knew it was likely to pierce his lung, but he also knew he didn't have much time, if any, to find Ray. He wasn't even sure if his best friend was on-board the space vessel – but he was taking a chance nonetheless. Limping across the battlefield, the black armadillo came across his opponent, lying in a defeated heap near the exit. Its transforming-screen like face flickering between a demonic look, and that of Ray with closed eyes. Mighty growled and quickly smashed his heel into the screen, effectively crushing the EX Joker's head, and continued through the exit, and towards the sign that read "Containment Room".

**Northern Sector, Death Egg IV**

Running the best he could despite his injuries from Metal, Sonic rounded the final bend in the long, grey corridor. The doorway opened up to a bridge spanning across a what seemed to be endless fall. Sonic jogged across the bridge, but slowly came to a stop at the center of it, and glanced upwards to a glowing, rotating machine. However, from the opposite end of the pathway, Doctor Eggman strolled out before the blue hero. The old doctor didn't come out in any sort of machine or creation, but simply walked out opposite to the hedgehog. Eggman snickered and tweaked his mustache out of habit.

"I remember when you brought the Death Egg down on me all those years ago," he recalled. "The tides have finally turned, and now its my turn to win."

"What do you think you're doing, Eggman!" Sonic barked. "Haven't I shown you that I'm always gonna come and break all your new toys?"

The machine above the trio began to glow while sending off rays of light. Along with the powerful light, alarms began to sound through the entire base, as emergency lights flickered on and off. Blast doors suddenly slammed down into the titanium flooring on both ends of the bridge, while a loud humming sound filled the quarry.

"Sonic, be careful!" Tails warned. "That machine up there is charging up energy for something, and its coming from down below. I'm trying to read-"

"Chill, bro," Sonic assured. "We got this."

"Today is the day I win. I will finally stand above you in conquest." Eggman growled and pulled a small machine from his pocket. "I have brought the planet you hold so dear to its knees, and have left it crippled under my power. The world is in my clutches now, and I have the power to destroy everything you love with the click of one button, but know this, I won't regret anything. I will watch you break apart, just as I have every time you left me ruined! Conquering your world took no time at all, and soon it will be mine!"

"You know we'll stop you just like every other time before, Doctor!" Tails remarked.

"Oh, my dear Tails," Eggman snickered as he pressed the button on the face of the machine he pulled out earlier. "I sometimes wonder how you're considered my equal in engineering genius. You two have always been there to stop me at a seconds notice, but not this time. Sonic, in the time you've last left me in defeat, after destroying my Amusement Park up in space, I came to realize just how lightly you take me. I have brought the military to the ground, and I now have the key to the power the Echidna God's locked away for a millennium."

With a wide smirk, Sonic laughed and crossed his arms. "Has it really come to this, Doctor?" the blue hero asked. "I remember back in the day when you could take me on with no force but your own. But lately you've had to rely on some ancient evil, or prophecy or somethin' to face me. I'm impressed, but c'mon Egghead, I want originality in this relationship of ours!" Sonic grinned.

Suddenly the entire bridge began to shake, causing the alarm systems to cease, and the light to fade without warning. Noticing a sadistic grin from Eggman, Sonic spun around and tackled Tails to the ground in defense just a split second before a powerful beam of energy collided with the bridge. Cracks slithered outwards from the center of the titanium enforced structure, as the metal snapped and the center collapsed into the darkness below. The beam began to spin out of control, slowly swallowing up the rest of the abyss. Then, before the duo had a chance to defend themselves, two robotic pawns hovered above them and pulled them through the air, and thanks to an electrical barrier, through the beam of light and to Eggman.

"This is the final hour, Sonic," Eggman chuckled. "And I want you to see the weapon that will destroy everything before I take your life!"

"You're starting to sound like a broken record, Eggy," Sonic retorted, earning a chuckle from Tails.

"Come!" Eggman bellowed, and turned out the door behind him, leading into another observatory.

"What..what the hell?.." Sonic murmured.

"What is that?" Tails gulped.

**Location: Northern Battlefield, Station Square**

Rubble fell from the sky as though it were rain, creating holes in the already cracked and destroyed pavement. The remains of any vehicle on the street became crushed under falling pieces of concrete, creating a storm of fire in the midst of destruction. Office buildings toppled over like dominoes, smashing into neighboring buildings and bringing entire clusters of businesses to the ground. Smoke and dust shot up into the dark sky, as slowly the sun began to rise into the new day. Beams of light slowly washed across the destruction of the once great city, but only for a few seconds. Slowly a ripple of black light washed across the atmosphere, soaking up any form of light, and blanketing the world in a dark coating of energy. Silvery specs of light hung in the air, as if it were snow. People screamed as powerful beams of purple energy shot down from the heavens, and into the Earths surface, creating even more madness.

White rock then began to rotate around a central point in the sky, piecing together to form a massive circle in the air. From the center of the mass of white material and black light, a burst of white energy flashed across the horizon, blinding anyone who dared look up. Reality seemed to shift as the gravitational balance of the planet shifted, causing everything to feel two times heavier than normal. Buildings collapsed upon themselves, as smaller minerals dematerialized and spiraled into the sky. Slowly from the center of the black void, the sky became a sickly violet color, as more clusters of silver and white specs appeared across the entire planet.

**Location: Central Observatory, Death Egg IV**

"Since my last defeat, you've given me a lot of time to research and formulate a final plan of action," Eggman explained. "While going through my grandfathers diary, I came across a page of notes regarding something he named "the Twilight Gate". I must admit, my dear grandfather didn't leave much to go off. So I begun my research, and stumbled across the history of the precursors and the ancient prophecy of Polaris. To open the gate to the world of the beast, one must collect the seven treasures of the gods, namely the Twilight Keys."

White rock became more evident, as the gate like circle began to come together around the tip of the gigantic cannon protruding from the top of the Death Egg. Sonic's hopeless green eyes could only watch as a otherworldly beam of green energy shot out from the mouth of the cannon, and into the void of darkness, causing it to swivel and churn in the vacuum of space. White and silver specs of light twisted and convulsed around the beam the Death Egg had fired. Inside the space station, however, all was quiet.

"Later on I learned that the Keys were the holders of all the power the ancient Gods of Echidna lore wielded. However, I also learned, that together with the seven Keys to the gate, there were also five additional treasures, these were called the Cores. The creator, or the Father of the God's named Izanpheus sealed away his powers into these five spheres. But I only needed to resurrect the God of the Twilight, Polaris, and also the weapon that the precursors locked away so many years ago, the Genesis Cannon, I only sought out the Keys. But even so, that doesn't conclude my plans! You're in over your head, Sonic!" "

"You definitely know how to piss off the God's, huh Eggman?"

"On the contrary, hedgehog. I've won this time!" the Doctor howled in glee. "My army of soldiers have ravaged the entire planet and brought the capitals to their knees! I've destroyed cities, and even brought you right into your own death trap! My cannon is already in the process of releasing Polaris, and your too weak to ever hope to stop me! Check and mate, hedgehog!"

Suddenly a loud explosion blasted away the doors to the observatory, shooting the two panels making up the entrance way into the robots holding Tails and Sonic. From the dust and smoke, Knuckles roared and smashed his fist through a swarm of robots descending to defend the doctor.

"Knuckles!" Sonic and Tails yelled happily.

"So I see you've managed to make it past Metal Knuckles. No matter, that was just to slow you down!"

"Back down, Doctor!" Sonic smiled competitively. "There's no chance of you winning against the three of us!"

"Oh ho ho ho!" The doctor quickly tapped another button on his device, allowing for a multitude of liquid metal limbs and vines to wrap around his body, "I suggest you find Mighty before the EX Joker regenerates! The clock is ticking!"

Suddenly the floor around the doctor dropped out, swallowing him up. The insane laughter of the doctor echoed through the entire room, as emergency lights flashed to life alongside loud alarms.

"Tails, Knuckles, you guys go and find Mighty. We can't lose him and Shadow in here!" Sonic shouted as he slid to avoid a following support beam, and towards the hole in the ground. "I'll go find the Doctor and Shadow and we'll meet up back at the Typhoon. If I'm not back within an hour of you guys getting there, just leave without me!"

**Containment Cells 10-20, Death Egg IV**

Mighty slid, and quickly rolled under a descending door, and continued running through the corridors, despite the constant shaking and the deafening sounds of the alarm systems. His breathing had become choppy due to his rib, and he found it increasingly harder to ignore the pain. But he told himself he'd rescue Ray, even if it killed him. His purple eyes danced across the rooms of the prison cells, keeping a steady look out for his best friend as he made his way through the Containment corridors. Suddenly the hallway split off, one direction leading upwards, and another leading downwards. Confident in his abilities, Mighty ran down the stairs leading to the lower level, and continued running through the debris falling from the ceiling. He couldn't help but wonder what was going on with Sonic and the others.

Then, a sound he never thought he'd hear again penetrated his train of thought. He heard Ray.

"Mighty?" the young squirrel choked. "Mighty is that you?"

The black armadillo grunted, and despite slipping to turn around, the traveler scurried back to his feet and jogged back to the prison cell holding his friend.

"Ray! Dude, I told you I'd come back!" Mighty exclaimed through tears. "Now help me bust down these bars so we can get you out of here!"

With a weak nod, the orange squirrel pulled against the unsteady cage, while Mighty rammed his hard shell into it with all his might. However the second he collided with the cage, a flash of turquoise light filled the corridors, and the armadillo bounced across the ground and into the far wall of the next corner. Standing half-armored, the EX Joker ignited its sword once again, and launched across the ground in a blur of energy, while at the same time slicing through every cage in the hallway.

_"Heroism is but a nature of bravery. It's the sacrifice of safety to assert justice in the face of terror. But does Justice always assure the betterment of humanity?." ~ Gerard Van Oljjeirk, Ambrosia Test Subject 002_

**To be Continued**

**Authors Note~ **Hope you're all still with me! I'll be updating pretty quickly in the next couple days, cuz the next 2 chapters are all ready. Leave your comments, theories and tips in a review!


	15. Chapter 15: Dying World, Part 1

**Violet Dreams**

**Chapter 15: Dying World, Part 1**

"_All they that take the sword, shall perish with the sword."_

**Location: Death Egg IV**

Wheezing in between breaths Sonic rounded a corner, and continued down the long, narrow tunnel headed towards the heart of the space vessel. Never had he felt this much pain running before. The blue hero slowed down and groaned as he clutched his abdomen, the bandages crumpling from his movement. After shaking his head, and catching his breath through the pain, Sonic continued down the corridor, blocking out the pain in his body. He didn't have time to worry about things like a little cut on his stomach, or anything like that. All he knew was the fact that he had to stop Eggman no matter what. Approaching an upwards slant in the pathway, Sonic picked up speed, despite his body's displeasure, and burst into the upper most level of the Death Egg.

"Where are ya' Eggman!" Sonic called.

A loud cackle filled the quiet air of the Death Egg, as the sounds of machines clanking together muffled out the laughter. The blue hero craned his head upwards just in time to catch a glimpse of a navy blue streak of light descending upon him, allowing him no time to react, and resulting in a collision. Debris rained down over the small cloud of smoke cloaking the point of impact, as the metal in the room began to glow a very faint turquoise color. Gigantic arcs of powerful electricity jumped out of the ground, creating a storm of light across the sleek metal surface. A spiraling mass of blue energy, encased with white ribbons of light suddenly erupted from the veil of dust, taking a figure with it. The mass suddenly expanded, and swirled about before dispersing, and launching the unknown figure into the far wall of the cavern-like room of the Death Egg.

Sonic grunted in pain, and sunk to his knee while clutching his right arm. His emerald greens darted up towards the high powered collection of electricity dancing in front of his face, and quickly brought his left arm up to grapple the wrist of his attacker just before the mass of energy collided with his face. Using whatever amount of power he had left, Sonic heaved the figure off the ground, and flipped on top of them. Curling into a powerful spin dash, and launching into the sky, Sonic twirled around in mid air moments before a flash of black energy collided with his chest, driving him upwards in the blink of an eye directly into the wall.

"Heh." the blue hero smirked weakly, "I shoulda guessed it woulda been you."

Though mechanical, Sonic could feel the undying rage behind the crimson eyes leering before him. "My orders are to keep you here as long as possible," Metal explained. "But, I assure you, today is the day I finally end your existence, hedgehog." The blue doppelganger finished venomously.

Grunting with desperation, the blue hedgehog quickly swung his right arm upwards in an impressive right hook, knocking Metal away through the air. Ignoring the seething pain in his abdomen, Sonic pushed away from the wall with a mighty push, and summoned to life in his palm a swirling and streaming ball of blue and white energy just in time to smash it into the mechanical warrior's chest plate.

"Sonic Wind!"

The orb of energy then spun outwards like a star exploding in space, and with its redirection of power, shot Metal Sonic down to the ground like a bullet. Using his high powered thrusters, Metal Sonic easily swerved away from the ground just before impact and back towards Sonic like a missile. Using the velocity of his fall, the blue hero curled into ball form and shot downwards like a bullet, avoiding Metal Sonic mid-air, and rebounding off the ground to slide towards the opposite end of the baseball diamond sized arena.

"Geez, you're serious this time, eh Metal head?"

"You haven't clue, hedgehog!" Metal roared. "I've waited all my life for this single moment! I'm going to become the one, true Sonic!"

Performing a backflip just in time to avoid a electrically charged claw, Sonic laughed and dashed towards Metal. "You're becoming predictable dude!"

Using the taunt as extra motivation to kill, Metal Sonic quickly gathered up a flowing orb of dancing electricity in his claw and propelled itself at Sonic. Using the speed of his thrusters, and stream-line body, Metal Sonic quickly thrust his attack forward, driving his claw into the real Sonic's chest. A dancing display of sparks jumped and fluttered away from the blue hedgehog, as the crack of thunder echoed through the arena as Sonic bounced across the floor. Allowing no time for recovery, Metal Sonic pursued his target, and with precise aim took hold of Sonic's ankle, and with lightning fast reflexes, the navy fighter twirled around and threw the blue hero hurtling into the ceiling.

"Total Annihilation!" Metal sneered, as a vicious glow surrounded his body.

Then, faster than the eye could see, a brilliant flash of white light erupted from Metal's body, colliding with Sonic, and creating an impressive hole in the arena-styled room. Sparks danced across the entire perimeter of the battle area, causing the metals that made up the walls to glow blue. Then, Sonic smacked to the ground in a steaming heap, his gloves and shoes burnt along the edges, while cuts littered his body – some minor and some more serious.

Stalking over to the battered body of his rival, Metal Sonic flexed his steel claws, triggering another surge of electricity to dance up his right arm. With a sudden flash of purple light outlining his figure, Metal Sonic reappeared over top of Sonic, and grappled the hedgehogs throat with his left claw, and hoisted the hero up into the air. Earning nothing other than a smirk filled with stone-cold determination, Sonic snapped his head forwards, knocking his look-alike backwards, and allowing himself to spin dash into Metal Sonic like a rocket.

A cocoon of cerulean light wrapped around the two fighters, as Sonic accelerated them both through a heavy-duty blast door and into a corridor made of specially engineered glass. Sonic kicked away from the dangerous doppelganger and rolled across the transparent floor, and quickly jumped back to his feet, only to slide backwards slightly. Laughing in amusement, Metal Sonic picked himself up from the ground slowly, while electrical energy began to dance along his entire figure.

"I've never thought to ask ya', bolt-brains," Sonic called out suddenly. "But why do you listen to that fat, old man?"

Metal's violent red eyes, though artificial, suddenly wavered for a moment, as if in thought. "I don't."

Within another afterimage of purple light, Metal Sonic reappeared in front of Sonic, delivering a bone-crushing punch to Sonic, which sent the blue hero rolling across the glass flooring. A flash of turquoise energy lit up the narrow corridor, and Metal Sonic zipped towards the blue hedgehog like a bullet. However, Sonic quickly spun up into a spin dash, and fired off a powerful torrent of blue energy, which smashed into his look-alike, throwing Metal to the left, in turn creating small cracks in the glass hall. Wasting no time, and despite the overwhelming pain affecting his top performance, Sonic conjured up another twirling orb of violent energy, only this time allowing it to flatten out into a disk shape in his palm. Sonic swung his arm out, and hurled the condensed mass of blue light into Metal's left side, creating a harsh sawing sound as it sawed its way through the titanium exterior.

The powerful razor of light spun outwards, and away from Metal, only to collide with the glass corridor, creating additional cracks in its interior. Sonic yelled, and quickly smashed a chaos-energy infused fist into Metal's core area. Sliding back slightly from the punch, the blue doppelganger quickly took hold of each of Sonic's wrists, and ignited his thrusters to full capacity, launching them both through to the next area of the Death Egg. A violent explosion rocked the North Hangar as the blast door broke into two from the impact of the two high speed fighters. Smoke and flames curled along the ground as Sonic rolled and slid out of the debris, his right hand already glowing with an intense blue light, ready to attack.

Flying from the smoke right behind Sonic, Metal charged ahead with his claw reeled back and charged with another dancing mass of electricity. Grabbing hold of one of the overhanging chains, Sonic kicked off the ground, and towards a robotic crane, his right hand beginning to give off powerful ribbons of light as he swung around the head of the machinery and back towards Metal at an even faster pace. Using his advanced targeting system, Metal veered upwards a split second before Sonic thrust his arm forwards to attack. From the palm of Sonic's hand, a powerful blast of blue energy swirled upwards like a tornado, and then shot outwards into a double helix, carrying Metal Sonic up with it. Landing softly on the ground, and jumping upwards in a burst of light, Sonic spun into a ball, and collided with Metal Sonic, creating a powerful _boom._

"You're truly persistent," Metal snarled.

Sonic quickly unleashed a whirlwind from his spindash, creating distance between him and his look-alike. "What can I say, I don't like people copyin' me!"

"Tell me, hedgehog," Metal questioned, as his left arm hung limp and sparks jumped from a hole in his chest. "How do you expect to stop me, and then go and put an end to that grotesque old man as well? You may be fast, but not _that _fast."

"Whose to say I've even went all out yet, Metal-head?" Sonic asked with a weak grin. _"Shit, this could be bad. I'm running out of energy, and these injuries from last time haven't healed up yet." _Sonic thought.

"I have you backed up into a corner this time, Sonic," the blue look-alike chuckled. "After today, I'll start my reign as king in a worldwide monarch, and be dubbed the one and only Sonic. However, I will admit you've put up a great feat to stand against me for so long."

"Look's like someone's counting their chickens before they hatch, Metal," Sonic sniggered. "Let's not get too cocky, cause as long as my heart is a'beating and my lungs pumping, I'll be around to kick your ass up and down any place we meet!"

"Then it seems as though I'll have to rip your heart out today!"

**Meanwhile**

**Location: Central Computer, Death Egg IV**

Delivering a mighty punch, Knuckles blew open the final door keeping him and Tails from the main computer, and also, from shutting down the entire base. Tails panted and quickly slid to a stop and dropped to his knees in order to peel off a panel guarding an assortment of wiring for the main computer system of the Death Egg. Knuckles glanced wearily at the doorway, and then back towards Tails, unsure of why they had made a detour all the way here when they were supposed to be rescuing Mighty.

"So what exactly did we come here for, Tails?" Knuckles urged, as a swarm of Egg Pawns flooded the room. "Cause we got company!"

"Just hold them off for me, Knux!" Tails pleaded, and quickly plugged in his Mobile Computer into the system. "If I can track down where Eggman is keep the Chaos Emeralds, we could be at a serious advantage in this fight. I just_ know _Eggman has them up here!"

With a roaring ball of fire lurching away from Knuckles' fist, the crimson guardian swirled around with his hand tightly grasped around the sword of one pawn, effectively ripping its arm off. The guardian then smashed the weapon he had just obtained through the chests of two more pawns, skewering them and pushing them off the edge of the walkway and into the dark abyss of the Death Egg. Heaving one final pawn of his head, and throwing it into a wall, Knuckles grasped an entire panel of metal from the circular walls of the Computer room, and mended it to the doorway with diligent use of his Fire Dunk.

"Hurry up, Tails," the scarlet echidna grumbled. "I'm starting to get a really weird feeling about this place!"

"Just a second," Tails muttered as his eyes scanned the screen in front of him. "I just have to reroute past the central firewalls...decrypt the master files...and I'm in!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"I don't know what that meant, but hurry!"

"I got it!" the young fox chirped. "I knew this couldn't be the central command for everything onboard. I'm getting readings from thirteen different energy sources from the core information processing computer. If I'm right, we just have to retrace our steps back to the observatory, and then head down the laboratory corridor! There should be an elevator down there that'll take us straight to the Emeralds!"

"Then let's get going!"

**Location: Data Runway, Death Egg IV**

A blinding flash of white electricity flashed down the dark tunnel, causing the millions of small green lights to flicker. Sonic picked up speed, his feet beginning to blur into a mixture of red, blue and white as he quickly lurched to the right to avoid a burst of electricity from behind him. He had no idea how long this tunnel was, but something told him it led right to Eggman. However, the problem now was trying to get right of Metal Sonic before he was fried hedgehog.

Sonic quickly accelerated, and spun around the tube-shaped tunnel, creating a spiraling trail of blue light in order to blind Metal Sonic. The blue hero quickly spun around, and jumped back up the pathway in order to smash an already charged Sonic Wind into Metal's torso at point blank. Chunks of the doppelgangers armor slid off of his exterior, and bounced down the dark abyss of the runway, as Sonic twirled around once more and sped up, only to have Metal activate his thrusters and come up beside the blue hero. The tunnel quickly swerved to the right, allowing Sonic to run in a loop around Metal and effectively block a powerful swipe from his look-alike. Then the tunnel lit up with a bright white energy again, as Metal unleashed a beam of condensed electrical energy at the blue hero. Sonic yelped in pain as the beam impacted his lower back, sending him into an uncontrolled tumble down the tunnel.

Suddenly, the long, enclosed runway shifted to a section of glass, showing that they were now suspended out in space, away from the massive space station. Sonic rolled along the slippery interior of the tunnel, and bounced back to his feet, beginning to run backwards to allow himself adequate time to avoid any attack Metal launched. However, the navy doppelganger quickly electrified his claws, and sped up in a flash of purple light, and unleashed a vicious mass of dancing energy into Sonic. The blue hero quickly spun into a ball form, as the electricity slithered across his figure, and disappeared, forcing him to unravel from his spin dash and fall to the ground.

Sonic's body lurched and tweaked from the massive amount of electricity in his body. The blue hero groaned, and scraped at the glass tunnel around him, watching as Metal screeched to a stop beside him. Using the superhuman strength gifted to him from his mechanical build, Metal kicked the blue hero further down the runway, causing the blue hero to become airborn as the tube-like tunnel turned into a vertical drop back to the Death Egg. Metal swerved down the tube with utmost accuracy, and continued his pursuit of Sonic, oblivious to the fact that the blue hero had finally recovered, and already spun into another spindash. Firing off another vicious blast of electricity down the dark tunnel, Metal Sonic sped up, in hopes of reaching the blue hero before exiting the runway. However, using his already increasing speed, Sonic spun around within the tube, creating a whirlwind within it, resulting in a powerful vacuum, which launched the blue hero upwards at his opponent.

"Now I got ya'!"

Using the speed boost from his whirlwind, Sonic smashed himself into Metal head on, pushing the mechanical atrocity back up the tunnel. Sonic then quickly spun out of his ball form and twirled his body over top of the stunned Metal, allowing himself to grasp hold of the doppelganger's arms, and tug them behind his rival's back. Green lights flashed past the two fighters like stars, when suddenly everything flashed to white, and opened up into a large, white, rectangular room.

Within a streak of blue, Sonic slammed his look-alike into the white flooring below, creating a cloud of dust, as rock jumped upwards from the collision. Sonic flipped away from Metal, and landed on the rock flooring, only to collapse to his knees panting.

"I gotta finish this soon..." Sonic murmured, and looked around. _"Where am I?"_

Blue arcs of electricity jumped and flickered across the stone flooring, as small pebbles began to levitate in the air from the intense electrical energy began to increase. Weak green eyes flickered back towards the spot where he had left Metal, finding that the blue robot had recovered from all the damage he had delivered. The blue hero groaned in frustrated and placed a hand on his knee in order to push himself back to his feet. The blue hero rotated his right arm, then pointed towards his doppelganger, who had now taken position on top of an upturned chunk of rock about twenty feet high.

"Y'know, that ain't fair, dude!" Sonic called out. "You shouldn't be able to heal yourself like that if I can't! Gotta fight fair, y'know?"

"Rules do not exist within the confines of war."

"Yeah, but do you really wanna kill me when I'm not at the top of my game?" Sonic laughed weakly. "Or could you take pride in knowing you killed your nemesis when he was half-beaten already? Doesn't seem like much of a victory to me, man."

"Don't blame games with me, hedgehog," Metal snarled, as electricity began to crackle around his body, and down the rock he stood on. "I picked up the power of the Chaos Emerald on you at the start. I know full well Knuckles has already trained you to use the powers of the gems to heal any damage."

Sonic snickered, and while shutting his eyes the blue hedgehog applauded. "You really have gotten better, eh Metal-head?" he exclaimed. "But that's just the artificial Emerald Tails whipped awhile back! But I guess since the cat's outta the bag, I have to fight full out, eh?"

"_Terror is all the doings of peace, just without the sugarcoating." ~ Boltstryke, King of the Azure Skies, _DateUnknown_

**Authors Note~ **told ya' the next chapter would be out quick! :D We're entering the finale now, everyone! Leave your theories tips and comments in a review


	16. Chapter 16: Dying World, Part 2

**Violet Dreams**

**Chapter 16: Dying World, Part 2**

_"__Those who stand for nothing fall for anything__."_

**Location: Data Runway, Death Egg IV**

Sonic stared at Metal Sonic with confidence. In pain from the previous injuries he had taken on, his breaths were choppy. Sparks scattered across the ground, jumping from the torn wires in the ceiling. Amidst the powerful turquoise glow that had expanded throughout the entire room, Sonic could see the menacing red eyes of his rival peering down at him from the massive chunk of white rock that had been overturned from the impact of their fight.

"Don't lie to me, hedgehog. My sensors are the most advanced of Doctor Robotnik's technology," Metal retorted. "I can see the energy readings on your body."

Smirking slightly, Sonic shrugged. "Then I guess I musta broke something when I wiped the floor with your metallic ass."

Earning a silence from his comment, Sonic snickered and braced himself as Metal Sonic cut through the air like a hot knife through butter, and closed the gap. Jumping back a split second before the lightning fast Metal impacted the ground, Sonic curled up into a homing attack and rocketed towards his titanium counterpart with such ferocity the ground cracked under the pressure of the sonic boom that had been created. A quick burst of blue light erupted from the collision between the twins, and a sparking mass of energy shot upwards into the already cracking ceiling. Rubble rained over top of the two combatants just as Metal unleashed a powerful barrier of black energy, knocking Sonic back and sending him sliding across the ground. Metal chased after his organic counterpart, diving through the falling rubble.

Extending down from his wrist, a vicious blade of fierce electrical energy shot to life. Then, as Metal's afterburners ignited, the ground gave out from the sudden shockwave that followed. Sonic quickly bounded off the ground with lightning reflexes, and into the air, where he used falling slabs of concrete as footholds. Like a cat chasing a mouse, Metal slashed through each segment of falling concrete like butter, closely pursuing his prey. Sonic then quickly swirled around, and in one motion spun into a ball momentarily and released a wave of blue and white energy. The swiveling gust of chaos energy crashed into Metal Sonic like a falcon, throwing him downwards only slightly, but giving Sonic the opportunity to bound away from the cracking ceiling and redirect his momentum back down towards his enemy. Curling back up into his homing attack, a shell of brilliant light hugged the hero's form as he slammed against Metal Sonic. Due to the sheer force of the hit, Metal was hurled down into the darkness that opened up from the collapsing floor, with Sonic free falling over head.

Using the powerful thrusters upon his back, Metal Sonic quickly zipped away from the ground before colliding with the metal flooring. The blue hero smashed the swirling mass of blue energy into the ground, creating a brief tremor, and then stumbled to his knees. Blood began to drip from the wound he had acquired from his previous encounter with the mechanical beast. Sonic gripped the bandages in pain and slowly stood back up, unaware of the massive computer sliding across the ground towards him. Using whatever ounce of energy he had left, Sonic rolled away, only for Metal to pin him up against a wall.

Cracks slithered around Sonic's body as the mechanical doppelganger pushed the hedgehog upwards.

"Now I have you cornered, hedgehog," Metal sneered. "It's been a long rivalry, but now I'm truly the more powerful Sonic."

"You really think you're good enough to be my equal, bucket-head?" Sonic mocked painfully. "I have someone to save, and I'm not about to let you get in my way!"

Metal's eyes seemed to glow in fury as he smashed the blue hero back against the wall, but this time pushing him through. Using the powerful thrusters on his back, Metal shot through the wall with Sonic, and into the core computer room.

**Meanwhile...**

**Location: The Core, Death Egg IV**

Suddenly rock and debris fell down past the single pathway that led to the main power processor of the entire space station. Knuckles swung his head around, preparing for another wave of robotic pawns, despite still being weak from his encounter with Metal Knuckles. However, falling along with the rubble, he could spot two bluish figures. Tails quickly covered his face as the rock and metal fragments fell against the titanium bridge, causing it to shake dangerously. Through the dust, Knuckles could see a set of vicious crimson eyes, and then a powerful gust of wind swept the dust from the air, shooting Metal Sonic into the far wall of the cylindrical room, narrowly avoiding the core computer.

Sonic collapsed to his hands and knees, heaving in air as blood pooled beneath him, staining his white gloves red. In panic, both Knuckles and Tails rushed to their ally's side, aiding him back to his feet.

"Are you okay, Sonic?" Tails asked quickly.

"No time to talk! You two need to find Shadow before this place falls apart!"

Sonic grunted and quickly spun into a spin dash, before shooting across the pathway and into the recovering Metal. The entire room shook, as the two fighters descended into the abyss below

"He can handle Metal, Tails," Knuckles reassured. "We need to focus on getting the Chaos Emeralds out of that thing, so Eggman has no energy source. That way we don't have to worry about anything getting in our way from finding Shadow."

"You're right. I just have to bypass the main firewall, and we should be able to open up the containment hatch and get the Emeralds out of it."

"Just do it quick, Tails," Knuckles replied with an uneasy look in his eyes. "Something big is happening out there, I can feel it."

"What do you think it could be?" Tails asked simply, as he worked on getting the Emeralds.

"I don't know," the echidna explained. "But I get the feeling it isn't going to be friendly."

Suddenly, the bright LED lights flickered, and died out as the entire space station momentarily powered down. Then, as soon as the lights turned off, everything flashed back to life, followed by a powerful tremor that shook the entire base. They could only wonder what Eggman was unleashing right now. And something told them they didn't want to find out either.

Using the new found eagerness to shut down the Death Egg, Tails rushed back to the machine before him and continued typing in rows of commands into the computer he had hooked up beforehand.

**Location: Containment Cells 10-20, Death Egg IV**

Putting every ounce of power he could possibly muster into one punch, Mighty threw his fist forwards into the torso of the oncoming EX Joker. Ribbons of green and white energy swirled around Mighty's arm as his knuckles made contact with the reinforced body of his pursuer. Feeling the powerful armor of his foe crunch and twist under his blow, Mighty quickly smashed his left hand into the EX Joker, stopping its speeding pursuit in a split second, and knocking it back across the ground.

As the mechanical warrior bounced across the ground, and rolled into the bars of an empty prison cell, Mighty rushed towards Ray and with an unrealistically powerful punch, blew open the gate and proceeded to help his long time friend up to his feet.

"I'm so glad you came, Mighty!" Ray blubbered, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"After that job in Spagonia, I lost sight of you, and GUN arrested me and tried to take me to be locked up. Otherwise I woulda found you earlier bud," Mighty reassured. "What'd he do to you up here?"

The two friends staggered out of the wreckage, and hurriedly up the stair case towards the main hangar where they had entered. Between uneven breaths and piercing zaps of pain from their wounds, the duo continued on their way towards the vessel Mighty had come in.

"I was his personal experiment. Something to do with the ARK and Shadow," Ray murmured. "I didn't quite understand what all he said, but I remember him saying I was going to be a stepping stone towards a better world."

"I didn't mean for you to get taken, Ray," Mighty murmured to himself, and looked at his feet. "I remember back when we did our first mission together how you jumped in the way of that car trying to escape."

Laughing weakly, Ray began to cough up small amounts of blood, but shook it off, and smiled gently. The two partners continued down through the space station, moving slowly so that Ray could keep up.

"I remember that," the young squirrel smiled. "Good thing he was too afraid to actually kill someone."

"Hey, Ray," Mighty replied quietly. "I'm sorry I couldn't come back and get you in Spagonia. If I would've had the chance, I would've made sure you were safe. I wish I would have been in your position instead."

"Mighty, it's fine." Ray reassured with a smile. "What matters is that we're escaping now, right?"

With a confident nod, Mighty grinned and the two friends continued through to the loading bay, where the Typhoon waited patiently for the heroes return.

**Location: Main Headquarters, Death Egg IV**

The sounds of gadgets and machinery hummed in the quiet air of the control room that Doctor Eggman sat in. Rings of light descended rhythmically from the floating chair he sat upon, tweaking at his orange mustache. The doctor's penetrating gaze watched the quiet figure on the floor in the small prison cell before him. Hate-filled crimson orbs glared back at the doctor, as Shadow snarled.

"What the hell makes you think I should trust _you _of all people, Doctor?" the dark hedgehog sneered.

The pulsating energy from the high-tech handcuffs around his wrists had quickly begun to get on his nerves, throwing his anger overboard. Eggman chuckled in amusement, watching his hostage pry at the device holding the hedgehog's hands together. Then, with great effort due to his ever declining physical fitness, the Doctor eased himself out of the floating chair, and walked towards a large monitor mounted on the far wall, nearest the window overlooking earth.

"You see, Shadow," Eggman mused. "I'm the last one you _can _trust, because let's face the facts, we are _family_."

Violent ripples of crimson light began to curl off of Shadow's body, his muscles tensing due to the sudden spike of energy in his body. The hedgehog gritted his teeth, and pulled at the cuffs around his hands, attempting to rip them apart, but to no avail.

"We are nothing alike, you piece of shit," Shadow barked.

"You surely haven't lost your temper since we last met, Shadow," Eggman remarked, and grinned widely. "Listen close, Shadow, and listen well. Gerald was my grandfather, and the secrets that he left behind on the ARK are astonishing. His work, if it had reached society, would have altered the world we know today. Do you know how you were created, Shadow? Now, I don't mean the Ultimate Lifeform title and so on and so forth, but how you were _truly _conceived?"

A toothy grin spread across the Doctor's lips, and his voice wavered between cackles and a quiet tone as the rounded man attempted to retain his sanity. Surely he was loosing his mind. Shadow simply watched from behind the reinforced steel bars, the energy rolling off his body growing in size. Doctor Eggman slowly moved towards the prison cell, and then fell back onto his hovering chair which had followed.

"You don't need to restate something I already know, fat-man," Shadow growled. "Out of anyone on this planet, I knew Gerald best. I know the experiments he conducted, and the marvels he created."

Eggman snickered delightfully and sighed. "You see, Shadow, you and I have a connection unlike any other. We are bound by the genius of my grandfather – your creator – and we cannot change that. You are his legacy and his greatest creation, but do you really think he's the only one capable? The technology used to create you existed nearly 60 years ago."

Narrowing his eyes, Shadow glared at Eggman viciously. "What's your point, Doctor?"

Noticing the malice in Shadow's eyes, Eggman gulped. "What I'm trying to say is, with the diary my grandfather left behind, I intend to recreate his masterpiece, create something that is ultimately..._pure _of this world's tainted blood. It'll grow, like a child, into the truth of my existence, Shadow."

A wicked smirk curved onto the hedgehog's lips, as a quiet laugh left his lips. "You mean tyranny and mindless rampage? If that's what this _child _is going to acquire through you, then I'm sure Gerald would be roll in his grave!"

"Such a naïve one you are, my dear Shadow." Eggman sighed, and activated a screen, showing off a series of images all foreign to Shadow. "It's true I've won the war this time, nothing can erase that fact. It may not happen now, but it's the destiny of this world. You were created by the combined effort of the Chaos Emeralds and Black Doom's blood, making you extremely unique. However, when I was going through my grandfather's notes, do you want to know what I found?"

"If it'll save me the lengthy speech," Shadow sneered.

Ignoring the insult, Eggman continued tapping a button on his chair, which in turn moved through the various images on the screen. Finally, he stopped on a picture of a diagram of a humanoid hedgehog – like Shadow – with two different objects on either side of it.

"The Chaos Emeralds weren't the only treasures of the Echidna Empire. There were artifacts known as Twilight Keys, which held the secret to opening up the pathway to brilliance, as it's described in the words of the prophecies of Dimitri. These _keys _were left within the bodies of the holders, and passed down every generation to the next set of chosen individuals. But there were two sides, the seven keys of Polaris, and the five cores of the Gods created to combat Polaris, the ancient God of the Twilight Gate. Have I lost you yet?" Eggman snickered.

"What exactly are you getting at?"

"My point is, Gerald Robotnik, my grandfather, studied these objects and used their energies like he did the Chaos Emeralds. You remember the massacre that took Maria's life, I presume?" Eggman chuckled, noticing the hint of pain in Shadow's look. "Well, the secrets I've uncovered are absolutely astonishing. Gerald was signed to a contract, and assigned Project: Resurrection. You were only the beginning, the prototype of something far, far greater. My grandfather was given the task of reviving the very Gods that created the keys to nullify Polaris."

"Are you always latched onto some lore of the Echidna, Doctor?" Shadow scowled. "You're starting to bore me."

"The Ark was shut down because of the very chaos that project created. Mankind had become terrified of the power my grandfather was manufacturing. GUN grew scared of his dying loyalty, and shut down the entire project before it could truly bloom. All that's left of the project is you, and the DNA my grandfather created with Black Doom. That DNA was used to create you, and it was going to be used to build a precise group of super-beings such as yourself. But before Gerald could succeed, everything was taken from him. He left his final revenge in the programming of the Biolizard, and infused the abilities of the Chaos Emeralds with it, and you."

"So, what you're trying to say is, Gerald had created more like me? But GUN killed them as well?" Shadow retorted with confusion.

With a great sigh of annoyance, Eggman turned off the monitors. "No, but he was on the path to doing so. I'm simply going to finish his work, and when I'm finished, the world will bow down to me as their new King!"

"What makes you think you'll achieve that goal, Doctor?" the black hedgehog replied. "It took Gerald years to create me. You don't have near enough time to even -"

Laughing heartily and loudly, Eggman grinned and walked towards the exit. "That's where you're wrong, Shadow. The flowers of my victory have already bloomed, and when the time is right, they'll be released on the world, and bring me brilliance! With the vessels of the Twilight Keys in my hold, and the very power used to seal the Twilight Gate, I'll awaken Polaris and use the gifts of the Chaos Emeralds and the Keys to bring the world to its knees!"

With growing flares of scarlet and violet energy, Shadow growled and pulled apart the handcuffs binding his wrists together. Screaming in terror, Eggman staggered against the wall as a brilliant flash of light filled the room briefly. Shadow reappeared in front of the insane Doctor, energy continuing to billow off his body. Suddenly alarms began to sound in sync with flashing red lights all along the halls of the space vessel. Shadow grunted, his attention being split from his target and the sudden change around him.

"Hohoho! It's finally time!" Eggman bellowed, and jumped back to his feet just as fleet of his pawns stormed the room. "Swell effort, my dear Shadow, but it wasn't quite enough!"

Shadow unleashed a menacing burst of energy from his body to incinerate the incoming robotic troops, sending smoking and twisted pieces of metal across the floor. The black hedgehog quickly brought forth a powerful mass of sparking yellow energy within his palm, and threw it forwards to destroy the doorway blocking his path. Smoke and debris erupted through to the other side. The black hedgehog continued through, and into the winding corridor leading up to the main hangar, where he was near certain Eggman had headed.

Charging through the troops of robotic pawns, Shadow unleashed a powerful flurry of yellow bolts of energy, obliterating anything in his path as he ascended the corridor. Past the windows lining the hallway, Shadow could see chunks of white rock coming together in front of the main cannon fixated on the Death Egg, and past that he noticed a shift in the vacuum of space. Specs of silver swirled around the white rock, when suddenly a field of purple light expanded against the border of rock. Ignoring the abnormal sight, Shadow came to a sudden stop in front of another door.

His upper lip twitched into a sneer, while a powerful dancing mass of violet energy exploded to life within his hand. The black hedgehog smashed the pulsating orb of power against the titanium door, causing it to explode in a burst of light, smoke and fire.

"If you know so much about Gerald's creations, and notes, then I want some answers Doctor!" Shadow hollered viciously.

Steam exploded out of several connecting joints of the gargantuan, mechanical dragon that Eggman had already made his way into. Green lights flashed to life along the length of its serpentine body, as two powerful mechanical wings expanded outwards. With the aid of four powerful thrusters, the orange-red beast began to give flight, its mechanical jaws open to reveal the cockpit where Eggman sat.

"I'll make you a deal, hedgehog," Eggman negotiated, his laughter looming in the air. "Join me, and with the power of the Twilight Keys, you'll see you're precious Maria again!"

"I didn't ask for bribery! I asked for answers!" Shadow barked back. "Why did Gerald accept the project? He had already gotten the key to immortality through me, and that was more than enough to save her, so why didn't he leave it at that?"

"That I cannot answer, Shadow," Eggman replied honestly. "However, if you want the answers for yourself, join me and you'll have them and more."

Shadow grew quiet, his rage-filled eyes growing calm as he stared at the ground, pondering the rewards he could achieve. Eggman cackled and asserted power to the thrusters of the mechanical monstrosity, as it curled and winded down an opening in the floor of the hangar.

**Location: Containment Cells 10-20, Death Egg IV**

Beneath the rubble, the Ex Joker shone a brilliant turquoise, and unleashed a terrifying blast of energy. The sudden attack vaporized all the debris ontop of it, turning it into nothing more than a pile of dust and ashes. Using its powerful thrusters, the mechanical warrior shot upwards and back to its feet. Its' scanners gazed over the room, searching for his target, and then finally shot up through the corridors leading out of the prison like area.

**Location: Boarding Bay, Death Egg IV**

"I don't know if this will make any sense, but," Ray began. "I saw what Eggman was trying to do."

With a look of shock and curiosity, Mighty turned to his friend. "What do you mean?"

"It didn't look natural, at all," the young hero explained, shuddering at the thought. "Eggman dissected his prisoners like frogs, looking for something that he called the Twilight Keys. I don't if he knew what he was doing or not, but he tried cutting me open too, and kinda got me too. Mighty, you have to stop him. Those _things _he's creating are evil!"

Suddenly Ray stumbled to the ground, coughing madly and hacking up blood onto the polished floor. The black armadillo quickly knelt beside his friend, worried sick about his friends condition, and only now noticing the numerous scars across Ray's back. Mighty wrapped an arm around his best friend in order to help him, oblivious to the blue light to his left until it was too late.

"Duck!" Mighty yelled frantically.

A storm of debris and falling rubble mixed in with slabs of steel suddenly fell down in front of the pair. Covering their eyes from the smoke and dust, the duo failed to notice the glowing turquoise blade coming towards them.

"Mighty, watch out!"

Turning his head just in time to see the Ex Joker charge towards him, Mighty's body ceased in fear. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, until finally Mighty felt the tug of Ray pushing him out of the way. Colors flashed by his eyes, and then a splash of warm liquid covered his face as he rolled along the ground, free of danger. Shaking away the fatigue, Mighty quickly scurried to his feet, noticing the sizzling blade of energy firmly wedged through Ray's ribcage, and penetrating through to the other side.

Tears poured down from Mighty's eyes as he summoned all the strength he possibly could to smash his fist into the head of the Ex Joker, effectively smashing it to pieces. The lifeless, headless body of the warrior slumped over as the blade of energy fizzled away into specs of light. Using the momentum from his attack, Mighty slid just in time to catch Ray as he toppled forwards, his eyes glazed over and lifeless.

"Are you alright, Mighty?" Ray whimpered in between coughs filled with blood.

"Why'd you do that? I should have taken that hit, and you could have gotten away!" The armadillo murmured through tears.

With cold, blue eyes, Ray grinned amidst his choking. "I wouldn't have made it. The torture Eggman's put me through, it was too much. I was just glad that you actually came back for me, Mighty."

"Just hold on! I'll get you somewhere safe, and I'll get you fixed -"

"I don't wanna suffer anymore. Remember what we promised each other?"

"Peace before sadness," They recited in sync.

Mighty's tears dripped sorrowfully against Ray's jacket, watching as his best friend slipped beyond the realm of the living. With Ray's final breath gone from his lungs, Mighty plunged his face into his best friend's chest, weeping for his loss.

_"Peace is only possible when there's nobody left on the battlefield left to kill." ~ Gerald Robotnik, World Renowned Scientist, 1949_

__******To Be Continued**


	17. Chapter 17: Horizons

**Violet Dreams**

**Chapter 17: Horizons**

_"____Experience is the teacher of all things."_

**Location: The Core, Death Egg IV**

With an enthused, surprised cheer, Tails jumped upwards. The young fox quickly dropped the tools he was using and pried off the glass barrier to the hatch that held the emeralds. With each glowing, magical gem that the young mechanic pulled out of the machine, the lights on the Space Station flickered, becoming dim. Knuckles turned his attention towards Tails and retrieved the gems, keeping them safe from any of the violent tremors that threatened to throw the emeralds off the platform they were on.

"Let's start heading back to the Typhoon," Knuckles stated. "We still need to find Mighty."

With a brief nod, Tails began jogging with the emerald guardian. "I hope he's okay..."

The continuous tremors shook the entire station, forcing the two heroes to wonder just how long it would be before the entire place collapsed on itself. With the field of white rock rapidly enlarging, Tails could only guess what the insane doctor was up to now. Although a feeling in his stomach told him that it wasn't going to turn out too well.

**Location: Manufacturing Facility, Death Egg IV**

Smoke and dust shot up in several places, as a blue streak bounced and rolled across the conveyor belt used to transport Eggman's robotic pawns. The blue hedgehog flipped around once again, smashing against the titanium door painfully and abruptly. Using his powerful thrusters, Metal Sonic closed the gap between the two fighters and shot across the unsteady pathway towards his prey, electricity dancing off his claw as he drew closer.

A sharp pain shot through his body as Sonic spun into a spin dash, and quickly blasted off towards a robotic crane. Using his surroundings to his advantage, Sonic rebounded off the crane, knocking its cargo from the powerful claw and sent it hurdling to the factory conveyor belt. The blue hero quickly spun out of his homing attack, and then with a swift jump off the wall, he sent himself descending like a hawk towards Metal as well.

The viciously powerful Metal Sonic quickly zipped forward in a shell of yellow and black light, as rings of air rippled past him. A thunderous rumbling filled the factory as the cargo box that Sonic had let loose crashed against the conveyor belt. Smoke exploded outwards as the machinery within the contraption ripped apart, splitting the pathway-like device in-two. Chunks of metal gave way, as the rubber-like belt spun off the wheels used to run it. Unshaken by Sonic's feeble attempt at a distraction, Metal Sonic redirected himself upwards, and like a bullet, collided with the descending Sonic.

Yelping in agony, Sonic dismissed the need to vomit from the impact to his gut, and grappled his attackers wrist, hoping to free himself. Metal Sonic unleashed a vicious amount of electricity into his claw, forcing the blue hero through the factory wall, and into a corridor on the other-side. The impact with the wall seemed to shake the entire Death Egg, as the station shook with such ferocity it seemed as though it would collapse at any second.

Metal Sonic threw the weakened hedgehog across the narrow corridor, smashing the hero against the opposite wall. In a flash of light, Metal appeared directly in front of the hedgehog once again with a black barrier pulsating around his body. Suddenly the corridor began to crack from the might of the attacks being thrown, and began to crumble apart. Sonic staggered, and quickly bounded away from the robotic hunter, using the falling debris around him to his aid. Flashes of blue and black descended down into the gigantic main floor below.

Hundreds of inactive robots tumbled and fell to the ground. Some were sent skidding into walls, while others served as a welcoming mat for the falling blue hero.

"So is this what the great Sonic the Hedgehog has become?" Metal Sonic questioned, and walked up to the groaning hero. "It seems you're the weaker copy between us."

Broken pieces of the robots around him shifted and fell as the blue hero stood, and although weak, he still had fight to him. "There's one thing you'll _never_ understand, Metal," Sonic replied with a smile. "I won't give up. And no matter what you do, I'll beat you back into the ground like always!"

"You're as naive as always, hedgehog," Metal retorted harshly. "Once I kill you, I'll be free to go through with my plan of eradicating that foolish Doctor's agenda."

"Ooh, mister rebel's going against Egghead again?"

"Once I've exterminated you, I'll set out to rule that pathetic planet under robotic rule," Metal stated. "With you and your accomplices out of the way, it'll be only a matter of time before the world is mine!"

"Jeez, you're worse than Eggman himself!"

Like a jet accelerating to top speed, Metal Sonic blasted towards Sonic in a flash of light. Feeling the sheer force of the hit rattle his very being, Sonic choked up a mouthful of blood before being sent flipping backwards across the factory floor. Wasting no time, and not allowing Sonic the chance to recover, Metal continued his pursuit. The navy warrior snatched the hedgehogs ankle, and with a fist crackling with energy, the doppelganger delivered a bone shattering punch down into the organic hedgehog's abdomen.

Bursts of air and light spiraled upwards from the attack, as Sonic slammed against the floor. With a painful groan, Sonic coughed again, blood dripping onto the floor once more. The blue hero grunted and pulled himself to his hands and knees attempting to stand, but fell to the floor again. Yelping in pain from a sudden kick to his back, Sonic slumped lifelessly on the floor. Metal stood over the defeated hedgehog, and clamped his foot over top of the hero's neck, a dazzling blue bolt of lightning erupting from his claw as he did so. Sparks fluttered away from the attack, sizzling into particles of light and then disappeared.

"It's over, hedgehog," Metal proclaimed. "After all these years of being _damned_ to being second best, I'll have finally won! Now you are the one on the ground on his death bed!"

"Even if I don't manage to defeat you," Sonic murmured, coughing weakly. "All my friends will be right there behind me to kick your sorry ass!"

"If that's truly what you believe." Metal growled, "Then who am I to deny a dead man's wish?"

With clenched eyes, and balled fists, Sonic bit his lip in anticipation for the coming attack. He felt the heat of the powerful electrical attack at his neck, and he knew he didn't have the strength to fight Metal off this time. He was at the end of his rope, and he had come so far. A tear slid down blood and grit stained cheek, pondering the thought of Amy reacting to the news of his death.

******Location: Hibernation Chamber, Death Egg IV**

Making his way through the chaos and utter destruction surrounding him, Shadow recounted the Doctor's departing words. Then a swarm of frantic Egg Pawns scurried across the intersection in the corridor, followed by a powerful explosion in tow. Scrap parts from the assembly bay to Shadow's left slid along the ground, as he focused his attention on one of Eggman's newer pawns. The swift, humanoid like beast brought its battle hammer down ferociously, only to have its head torn from it's shoulders by a powerful Chaos Lance. Shadow continued racing down the brilliantly lit corridor, decapitating any Egg Pawn that came in his way. The dreary grey walls of the Death Egg finally switched to an entire hall of glass.

"What the hell is going on out there?" Shadow wondered as he peered to his left at the anomaly surrounding the base.

Pulses of vicious purple energy slithered off the white barrier floating in space, shaking the entire vessel. The obsidian hedgehog sped through to the next area, and into a large hall of sorts. Slowing down to gather his surroundings, he noticed the cold fog snaking around his ankles, and the abnormal chill that hung in the air. It was quiet, despite the destruction taking place outside, and also strangely calming. Shadow slowly walked forwards, coming to the end of the wide walkway, which ended at a drop off allowing all the fog to roll into nothingness.

Looking past the abyss before him, he saw six containment pods suspended in the air. Vine-like tubing curled around each device like snakes, supplying whatever was inside of them oxygen.

"So the doctor wasn't bluffing after all," Shadow muttered in disbelief.

The black hedgehog scanned his surroundings for any sort of lighting and found his way towards a small computer at the far end of the room. Shadow wiped away the dust, and began typing in commands and scrolled through various sequences, each irrelevant to him, until he found an option that read "activate". Using his knowledge of the computer systems aboard the ARK, Shadow entered a string of commands, causing the front most pod to hiss. Then, the powerful hydraulic arm holding it up descended. The arm-like support beam extended across the abyss, and rested gently against the titanium floor, releasing another burst of air. Fog swirled away from the pod, as Shadow made his way back towards his previous position, in front of the tube-like prison.

Shadow watched as the all too familiar green liquid drained from behind the frosted glass. Then, as the liquid disappeared, an ominous creamy light flashed on within the pod, illuminating the figure within.

It hung limp against the restraints tight around its body. The black hedgehog stared at the creatures blank violet eyes, they looked straight ahead, void of emotion – and life. It took the shape of a hedgehog, he noticed. Its snow-white arced quills pushed back up against the padded rear of the pod, showing that the container was cramped. Tribal looking purple stripes slithered up its arms, and circled its chest, where they then arched down towards its waist and faded.

Scanning the entire form of the creature inside, Shadow noticed a small metal plate attached to the front of the containment tube. Kneeling down to get a better look, Shadow wiped the frost off the cold, metal surface and read the engraved words quietly.

"Rebirth through sacrifice," he murmured silently. "The blooming flower of the divine will eat up the beginning."

Then the room began to shake, almost as if on cue from reading the engraved words. Small stones bounced off the ground as they fell from the ceiling, followed by deafening alarms. Shadow turned his attention back to the creature within the tube, as a flood of green liquid filled up the pod once again, before the hydraulic arm returned it back to its place. Shooting his attention to the massive cracks beginning to eat away at the solid ground past the door way, Shadow fired off a fizzling bolt of Chaos Energy. The yellow arrow of light collided with the frame surrounding the entry way he came through, causing the blast door to fall violently to the ground, sealing off the room from the outside world.

"If what the doctor said is true," Shadow pondered, and neared the edge of the floor and stared down into the darkness. "Then..."

Without even blinking, the ultimate lifeform dropped fearlessly into the dark, his hands lighting up with a golden energy to illuminate his descent into the center of the space station.

**Location: Manufacturing Facility, Death Egg IV**

"Sonic!"

The hero's eyes snapped open the second he heard that all too familiar voice. Feeling the pressure over his neck disappear after a heavy _thud _Sonic forced himself up, and turned to see Metal sliding across the ground towards the far wall of the facility. Knuckles reeled his fist back swiftly, and then with a powerful punch to the air, spiraling pillars of flame jumped and danced upwards from the ground in a column towards Metal.

Fire and sparks surrounded the mechanical warrior as a final pillar of white hot fire burst upwards beneath Metal. Knuckles quickly spun around to aid Tails in keeping the blue hero on his feet, and together lead him to safety. However something felt strange to Sonic, he felt oddly rejuvenated and refreshed. Allowing the hedgehog to walk on his own, Tails realized he had the chaos Emeralds stowed away in his backpack.

"Look, Sonic," Tails chirped, opening the top of the bag for Sonic to see. "I got the Emeralds! Now we can get out of here!"

Ruffling his little brothers hair, Sonic smiled. "No can do bud."

"What!" Knuckles bellowed, his eyes showing the increasing fury he felt. "What do you mean '_no can do_'? We can't _afford _to stay up here any longer!"

"I came up here to get Shadow back," Sonic stated solemnly. "We have the Chaos Emeralds now, and that's great, but I'm not leaving without Shadow! Besides, I have a feeling Eggman's up to a lot more than we know up here."

The trio diverted their attention to the sudden sound of mechanical clanking, noticing the scorched Metal had finally recovered. Grabbing the backpack firmly, Sonic dumped it upside down, throwing the seven magical jewels onto the ground. The Emerald scattered to the floor, shining their respective colors.

"You guys go on without me," Sonic suggested. "Mighty is still in here somewhere, too! I'm gonna finish up with scrap brain here, find Shadow, and stop Eggman once and for all!"

Glowing like seven stars misplaced from the heavens, the Emeralds began to levitate around Sonic. The blue hero turned his gaze towards the ever-nearing metal hedgehog, the emeralds beginning to look like a rainbow colored ring spinning around him now.

"Don't worry about me guys," Sonic flashed a smile to his two friends. "I won't be long anyway!"

Then a powerful, radiant yellow light slithered up his body and expanded across his body like a sea of gold. Slowly ascending upwards from the sudden exposure of energy, Sonic tucked in his arms and legs, as the light twisted and expanded. Finally the mass exploded outwards in an elegant flash, knocking back clouds of dust and scrap parts of broken robotic pawns. Metal slid back slightly from the sudden release of super charged energy.

Floating only a mere inch above the ground, Sonic's body seemed to pulsate with the powerful aura gifted to him by the emeralds. The fiery, yellow energy cloaking Sonic's body traveled upwards from the ground like an ever growing fire beneath his feet. His blue fur had now been replaced by the same vicious yet calming gold that surrounded him. With clenched fists, Sonic slowly moved his crossed arms away from his face, and down to his side, revealing two red eyes replacing the once easy going grass colored ones.

As the transformation of the world-known hero ended, the air seemed to grow absolutely silent. It was as if the world had muted itself in awe of the dazzling display given by the Chaos Emeralds.

Creeping upon his face, Sonic's usual confident smile found it's way back on his lips.

Blazing orange, yellow and golden energy burst to life throughout the factory, drenching it in a warming light that could only be found in this form of Sonic's. Specs of sparkling glitter-like energy swirled upwards like a tornado, replacing the space Sonic once occupied. Appearing like someone had flicked a light-switch, Sonic smashed his energy infused fist against Metal's torso from point blank. Upon impact, a pulsating, churning orb of rippling golden light erupted between the two fighters, throwing the mechanical copy up towards the hole in the ceiling.

"Go on," Sonic reassured. "I got this covered!"

As another beam of rotating specs of light and pulsating fire-like energy shot upwards from Sonic disappearing, the two other heroes ran through the exit, towards the main hangar.

******Location: Observatory Ruins, Death Egg IV**

Forcing himself through the falling debris, and using the built up sorrow of his recently deceased best friend, Mighty smashed his way through the corridors of the Death Egg IV. Tears continued to fall from his eyes as he delivered a devastating punch into and through one of Eggman's more advanced mech's battle hammers. As shards of metal slid across the ground, Mighty jumped off of the downed Pawn and continued through the rubble, significantly slowed down due to his wounds from the EX Joker.

"Is that Knuckles and Tails?" he whispered to himself, and came to a stop just before the ground disappeared where the battle with Metal Knuckles took place.

Jumping across the gap in the observatory, Knuckles and Tails landed beside their comrade, waves of mechs falling into the depths of the destroyed dome-shaped room. The sounds of small explosions and metal scraping against metal lingered in the air briefly.

"This place is coming down on itself," Knuckles explained dramatically. "Figures, nothing built by that mad man ever works!"

"What happened to you, Mighty?" Tails asked worriedly.

"I'll explain later," Mighty replied quietly.

With another terrifying tremor from the base, the trio continued on their way towards the Typhoon.

******Location: Containment Room, Death Egg IV**

Walking slowly through rows of glass tubes, Shadow stared at the lifeless beings within each one of them. Recognizing one as the girl he had tried so desperately to rescue back on Earth before all hell was unleashed. They were all blinded by heavy mechanical helmets, which were attached to glowing tubes that extended into the ceiling. Every time the tubes shone, the Death Egg shook more violently, causing the tremors in the ground to increase in frequency.

Shadow stopped at the end of the room, where a cat hung suspended in the ooze-like liquid. Shadow recognized him as the brother of the war hero of the Seiryu family. He remembered that war all too clearly. Voxili went through a revolution that GUN had codenamed the Millennium War, where three sides battled for supremacy. GUN was there as the foreign force, as he was told. He found it strange that a warrior of the Seiryu caliber had been captured.

"So he has the Twilight Keys extracted after-all," Shadow deducted. "If he's truthful about GUN wanting super soldiers, why did they shut down the project after Gerald succeeded with me? Something doesn't add up."

The obsidian hedgehog scowled, and returned through the doorway of which he came.

**Location: Above the Death Egg IV**

Debris and the like rotated and shot outwards from the hole that Metal Sonic had come through. Using his thrusters to stabilize himself, Metal Sonic quickly halted in the midst of space, watching and waiting for the supercharged hedgehog to emerge from the wreckage. Another spiraling mass of golden light appeared in front of Metal, however the metallic warrior quickly ducked downwards and smashed his fist into Sonic's abdomen, sending the super powered hedgehog hurtling through the zero-gravity air.

A burst of chaos energy erupted from the hero's body, righting his body and allowing him to fly off towards Metal. Flashing blue and yellow sparks exploded from the robot's thruster, launching at Sonic like a bullet. The blue hero quickly brought his arms up in front of his face, blocking a powerful punch from his metal counterpart. Sonic quickly moved his arms, then threw a powerful chaos energy charged punch at Metal, knocking the doppelganger back. Then, using his unmatched speed, Sonic planted both his palms on Metal, unleashing a violent shock wave which sent Metal flying through space.

Sonic took off like a golden rocket, trailing after Metal only a second behind. Rock and debris floated outwards from Metal smashing into a chunk of rock floating about. Using this as an advantage, Sonic reeled another supercharged punch back, ready to destroy Metal. However the navy-blue doppelganger disappeared in a mass of static electricity, narrowly avoiding the vicious punch from Sonic. A flash of light swallowed the rock up, vaporizing it into dust. Sonic quickly snapped his attention to his right, just in time to face a punch from Metal. Sonic spun backwards uncontrollably, only to find Metal right in front of him with his claw charged with electricity.

Bolts of light darted outwards, as sparks flickered around Sonic. Metal tightened his grip around Sonic, pressing him up against another floating piece of debris.

Struggling against Metal's vice-like grip, Sonic kicked and squirmed to free himself, but to no avail. "You see, Sonic," Metal muttered viciously. "With you transforming into your impressive super form, you've allowed me to feed off the excess energy."

With a triumphant smirk, Sonic's aura jumped up around him, cracking the rock at his back. "You're not gonna win this time, Meta-"

Radio interference buzzed through the silence of space, interrupting Sonic. "Metal! It's time! Get back here!"

"It seems the bumbling Doctor still hasn't realized I'm not on his side," Metal noted to himself. "This isn't over hedgehog."

Disappearing in a flash of light, Metal was gone. But Sonic was left with two options.

Leave Eggman, and go and find Shadow, or stop the maniacal Doctor before he could do anything. The golden hero grunted, and with the power of the Chaos Emeralds within him, disappeared.

******Location: Central Command Hub, Death Egg IV**

The powerful jet thrusters attached to Eggman's latest creation unleashed a powerful burst of flame, pushing it through the vacuum of space, and towards the very tip of the Death Egg IV. Eggman's eyes watched as the small, almost unnoticeable, dome upon the top of the space station expand into view. The vicious thrust power of the Egg Wyvern Mk II propelled it through space faster than any NASA shuttle could ever achieve, and before he knew it, Eggman was docking his creation in the information hub of his entire scheme. Brilliant lights flashed to life all across the plexiglass dome, lighting up the inside perfectly. Gears turned slowly below Eggman's feet, as the center of the dome rose up several feet.

The doctor chuckled victoriously as a chair extended upwards from the center of the pedestal – like a throne. Then as he sat himself down into the chair, a curved keyboard rotated out from behind the chair, and in front of him a holographic screen lit up in front of his eyes. The doctor's lips were etched into an insatiable grin, his victory drawing near. From the side of the chair, a robotic arm proceeded to extract a small amount of blood from the Doctor's tensed arm, and then disappeared into the ground.

"Activate Project: Dusk," the Doctor snickered as a containment pod rose from the pedestal. "System, if vitals within my Egg Wyvern are terminated, implement DNA patch IRXX2 into Dusk, and terminate all power aboard the Death Egg Mk IV. After Project: Rebirth and Project: Resurrection are evacuated, activate self destruct sequence alpha."

"Yes, Doctor," came the robotic female reply. "Anything else?"

"Power up the Eclipse Cannon Mk II and open up the barrier to my success," Eggman howled hysterically, with insane laughter following close behind.

******Location: Outside the Death Egg IV**

A streak of brilliant gold energy glistened through the dark of space, as pieces of the Death Egg began to explode and fall apart. Slowly large pieces of metal and rock began their formation into the Eclipse Cannon II, sliding into place like puzzle pieces. Sonic veered through swarms of rock, metal and scrap pawn parts as he flew across a piece of the cannon. Green electricity danced across the inner surface, as connecting hydraulics locked into place, holding the weapon together. Memories of the ARK flooded Sonic's brain, reminding him of the horrible revenge that Doctor Gerald Robotnik wanted on humanity. This reminded him of back then, but much more terrifying.

The golden warrior swiftly teleported away from several gigantic steel beams dislodging from the destruction of the Death Egg. Then, Sonic saw the truth of Eggman's scheme.

Multiple rings of electromagnetic energy slithered down the outer shell of the Eclipse Cannon, as it began to power up. Powerful flares of green energy snaked away from the core of the doomsday machine, when suddenly a powerful beam erupted from within the mouth of the weapon. Flares of light burst away from the tip, as the pulsating beam collided with the rippling field of violet. The purple light within the white rock seemed to freeze, and then solidify as if it were glass, and crack.

He could feel the horror from behind the barrier seeping through already.

Sonic shivered, as he forced himself to ignore the shattering barrier until he had put a stop to Eggman, and rescued Shadow.

But something at the back of his head cried out, pleading to be set free. It wasn't friendly, nor was it pure like the form he had taken on now. It was evil, malicious, and dark. It screamed for power, fighting against the restraints his mind had locked it away with. He felt the rage of every battle begin to boil in his subconsciousness.

Whatever Eggman was unleashing, it attracted the demon within.

******Location: Central Command Hub, Death Egg IV**

"The time has come for my long awaited victory!"

The pedestal that Eggman sat on sunk back into the ground, allowing the Doctor to stand with ease and make his way back the cockpit of the Egg Wyvern Mk II. He knew that it wouldn't be long before that wretched blue rodent tracked down his whereabouts and attempted to foil his scheme like every time before. This time, however, would be different. Eggman quickly situated himself within the guarded cockpit of the Wyvern and waited as its menacing jaws closed over his protective casing. Several holographic monitors flashed to life within the darkness, as the HUD of the weapon activated.

Beams of flame shot out of the thrusters, as Eggman went through a full system testing before the fated meeting with his life time rival. It wouldn't be long now. The Doctor turned his attention to a portion of the monitor, and zoomed in on the twinkling golden spec in the distance. Eggman's toothy grin disappeared into a scowl of hatred as he plunged his arms through the advanced control mechanisms. The cylindrical cuffs slowly tightened around the Doctor's arms, allowing him full control over the monstrosity. As the thrusters burst to life on the Wyvern, its wings expanded to their full span, shattering the dome into small shards just as a powerful burst of gold enveloped Eggman's monitors.

___"What's done is done, but what's to come is another tale." ~ Dimitri Moritory, Echidna Alchemist, 34 BT_

**_Authors Note~ _**So.. Inspiration from that transformation scene mainly came from a couple songs..Scratch that, the entire battle between Sonic and Metal. Anyway! Song 1: Shoot to Thrill by ACDC (This was my main inspiration for Sonic transforming..fitting isn't it?). Song 2: Morte Et Dabo by Asking Alexandria (EPIC song) :D

If your curious what BT meant, its my own interpretation of the mobian "BC/AD" time periods. BT stands for Before Twilight, as in before the Nocturnus were sucked into the Twilight Cage. So we now see that Eggman truly means business, he's went through every possible loop hole to make sure he gets rid of Sonic, and conquers the planet! He's even made a backup plan in-case he dies!

If you have any comments, theories or tips leave em in a review!


	18. Chapter 18: Crisis

**Violet Dreams**

**Chapter 18: Crisis**

"_Wisdom is better than the weapons of war."_

**Location: Outside the Death Egg IV**

Eggman's lip twitched up into a dangerous scowl at the sight of the menacing golden hedgehog. They stood at the cross-roads of fate, and unlike before, the road was only big enough for one of them. The rotating golden aura surrounding Sonic shifted and pulsed, like a second heart beat as he stood defiantly in front of the Egg Wyvern. Glistening sparkles of light flickered into the air above him, as the two rivals stood in a silent standoff.

"So this is what it's come down to, huh?" Sonic asked flatly. "This isn't gonna be like the other time's, where I've smashed all your toys, you ran away, and we did it again, is it?"

The quiet hum of the Wyverns powerful thrusters filled the electric air. "No, it will not. You die here, hedgehog," Eggman snarled. "I've left no loop holes for you to escape through this time. This ends today!"

Pulses of vibrant purple energy tore apart at the already crumbling space station, causing Sonic to gaze sorrowfully at the blue planet below. It was a shame, really. He never wanted to see such a rivalry like this end so suddenly. In a way, Sonic saw Eggman as a friendly opponent, who, without each other, lived for nothing. Now it had come down to the time where Sonic was forced to go all out, and finish it once and for all.

"You know, you could still back down, Doctor," the golden warrior explained quietly. "We don't have to do this."

Never had Doctor Eggman seen his rival so serious and grim, it was astonishing in some ways. "Consider yourself an obnoxious child, stomping about, squishing ants," Eggman sneered, his temper beginning to draw shorter. "I'm the colony of ants, who has been squashed and destroyed time and time again. This final confrontation will simply be the end of the line for my mortal efforts. I've made sure that after this, my true plan is unleashed, and trust me hedgehog, none of you worthless bugs on that planet will survive."

Sonic grinned, and chuckled quietly. "You're always goin' on about somethin' aren't you, Egghead?" recalled the blue hero. "I'm not holding anything back this time, and I expect you to do the same."

Then, as if the Gods had heard Sonic's statement, the surface of which the eternal rivals stood on collapsed. Using the infinite power of the emeralds, Sonic shot off through the darkness of space, avoiding perilous blasts from the Wyvern. Using the debris floating around the space station as decoys, Sonic weaved in and out of the chunks of rock, attempting to lose his attacker. The Egg Wyverns wings suddenly lit up like the sun, allowing it to cut through the rock like paper. Within, Eggman laughed insanely as he fired thousands of specially crafted rockets. Sonic glanced behind him at the incoming swarm of explosives, and shot off even faster, swerving in between the Eclipse Cannon II, hoping to lose them.

"You won't be escaping those, hedgehog," Eggman cackled. "They're especially made to track onto chaos energy, and you're loaded with it!"

"Damnit..." Sonic muttered.

A flash of light suddenly erupted around Sonic as he disappeared with the power of Chaos Control. Eggman grinned wide, and using the chaos energy readings in his Egg Wyvern, he shot off towards Sonic a split second after the hedgehog appeared. The two, long, powerful arms of the Wyvern grasped the hedgehog tightly, slamming the golden hedgehog into a massive slab of floating debris. Cracks slithered away from his body, as he groaned in pain. Laughing victoriously within the Wyvern, its thrusters spun around to form a deadly cannon, and Eggman charged the weapon. Sonic grunted, then just as the destructive beam of energy ripped through the rock, the light of Chaos Control wrapped around him like the safe hold of a mothers embrace.

"Gonna have to do better than that!"

"Master, the portal will be open in approximately 3 minutes and 34 seconds," Eve informed within the Wyvern. "Shall I add more power to the weapons systems?"

"No, redirect all power to the thrusters and wings!" Eggman roared. "I'm gonna rip this hedgehog apart at his own game!"

Several rings of light suddenly flickered away from the Wyverns thrusters, as its arms and legs tucked in against its body. Then, in one flash of light the Wyvern shot towards Sonic like a bullet. Thinking fast, Sonic quickly zipped upwards, a vortex of golden light following behind him as he swirled around a runway similar to the Stardust Speedway. Doctor Eggman quickly veered the agile mechanical beast after Sonic, smashing through the runway like glass, and after Sonic. The super charged hedgehog came to an abrupt stop, and then fired off across the top of the Death Egg, causing massive tremors to rip apart at the exterior. As the Wyvern's deathly energy charged wings slid past the outside of the space station, shards of light tore it apart like paper, leaving a trail of explosions in its wake.

Using his size to his advantage, Sonic quickly flew around an over sized antenna in a tight circle, and redirected himself towards the incoming Wyvern. A flaming burst of golden energy wrapped around the hedgehog, as he rocketed towards the mechanical monstrosity. The golden meteor smashed into the torso area of the mech, ripping a chunk of its left leg off, causing the enraged scientist to curse from within the beast. The golden hedgehog then quickly grasped hold of the tip of its tail, and using the mass amounts of Chaos energy at his disposal, Sonic roared and threw the Wyvern down into the Death Egg.

Flame and light jumped upwards from the point of impact, as Sonic dove through the gargantuan hole that had been created, and shot down after Eggman like a beam of light. Tearing apart floor after floor, Eggman screamed in rage, firing every single artillery weapon mounted on the Wyvern – which turned out to be _a lot. _Sonic's crimson eyes grew wide at the sight of the onslaught of missiles. Thinking fast, Sonic unleashed a spiralling orb of golden light from his palm, blowing apart a wall and allowing him to escape certain death as the chaos seeking rockets exploded upon impact with the wall.

"Where did he go?"

"Order up!"

Sonic grinned wide as he smashed a super charged Sonic Wind against the side of the Wyvern, knocking it through the wall and into to the observatory. Rock and metal rained down into the dark gap that had been previously created, as the Wyvern slid along the debris. The blue hero charged through the gaping hole, a flash of golden light enveloping the entire area as he unleashed a vicious wave of golden energy from his arm. The super powered attack tore through the Wyverns other leg, forcing it to hover above the ground. However in retaliation, Eggman averted all the Wyverns power into its cannons once more, unleashing a larger and more dangerous beam than before. Sonic grunted and conjured up a quick bubble of golden light around his body in the form of a barrier, blocking the brunt of the attack. However, the unrelenting power of the Wyvern shot the hedgehog up through the ceiling, and into the Colosseum area that Mighty had fought in.

The golden warrior shot across the ground, and before impacting the opposite wall, used his arms to flip himself up into the air, a split second before a powerful full-contact slam from the Egg Wyvern. Rock collapsed over top of the high powered mech, as is it unleashed a powerful spherical barrier, in order to vaporize the rock on top of it. Using the short distance to his advantage, Sonic quickly unleashed a Super Sonic Wind, immediately creating a massive golden whirlwind in the centre of the Colosseum. The Wyvern slid along the ground, unable to fight the immense power of the vortex, and became sucked into its centre, giving Sonic the edge. The golden hero grinned, and began swirling around the vortex, becoming one with the golden light as he unleashed blast after blast of yellow light at the Wyvern, effectively destroying several pieces of its armour.

However, unbeknownst to Sonic, Eggman had already started charging an adequate amount of energy within the Wyvern to counter the vortex. A deadly blast of green electromagnetic energy flashed away from the titanium exterior of the Wyvern, dispersing the golden winds, and throwing Sonic into the rock wall.

Rock tumbled to the ground taking Sonic with it. His aura flickered momentarily, before dying out and returning his fur back to the blue. The blur hero groaned, as he pushed himself back to his feet despite the numerous cuts and gashes littering his body. Using a spin dash to avoid the incoming Wyvern, Sonic rebounded off the curved wall of the Colosseum, and shot towards the Egg creation in a hurtling ball of blue light. The blue hero smashed into the mech, knocking it into the wall as he rebounded upwards and in the blink of an eye reactivated his Super form once more and smashed into the Wyvern a second time. A burst of golden light filled the room as a dome of energy wrapped around the two fighters, warping them back out into space.

"Sorry, dude." Sonic smirked, "I didn't wanna endanger my friends!"

Ignoring the hedgehog's remark, the Doctor growled and redirected his mech away from the golden warrior. "Thirty seconds until opening, Master," Eve stated.

"Activate rear Giga Missiles, and turn up thruster levels to 100%," Eggman commanded.

"As you wish."

Blinking with confusion, Sonic noticed the swarm of missiles and quickly unleashed a devastating field of pure, gold energy from his body. Each missile collided with the mass of light, erupting into a fiery blaze before disappearing, allowing Sonic to shoot off after the Wyvern in a hot pursuit towards the portal. The scream in the back of his head returned, and he grunted in pain. The golden colour of his quills faltered, but remained only barely as the golden hero swerved around the massive green blast coming from the Death Egg.

"Just what are you doing Eggman!"

The golden hero could do nothing but watch, as the glass like purple energy disappeared. In return, a powerful shockwave shot through the green laser of the Eclipse Cannon, completely obliterating the front of the Death Egg, as well as throwing Sonic into one of its walls. The blue hero yelled out in fear as an otherworldly roar filled his ear drums and mind all at once. He saw Eggman ease his machine in front of the portal, as another roar echoed.

Sonic could only watch as hell unleashed.

Another divine roar filled the heavens once more, this time shaking the Death Egg so violently it began to come apart. Explosions rocked the entire area as chunks of the space vessel crumbled. However, Sonic noticed two Eggman designed shuttles launch off towards Earth, as well as the Typhoon floating at a safe distance. He could only wonder if Shadow was safe with Tails at this point.

"What..what's going on here," Sonic murmured quietly, and turned back towards the portal.

Words couldn't describe it. His stomach flipped inside his body, and his heart smashed up into his throat. One clawed hand slowly reached out from the portal of darkness, followed by lightning jumping away from within. If Sonic had to guess, the hand alone was about half the size of the moon. As the hand grabbed hold of the white rock surrounding the barrier, Sonic felt the resulting shockwaves. A second hand reached out of the depths, and gripped the edge as if something were pulling itself out of a coffin.

The same otherworldly roar filled his mind.

Then, he witnessed the supernatural. First, it seemed as though it were a bird, but as its head peered through, and continued to rise up out of the portal, it took the form of a dragon. Rows and rows of razor sharp teeth, with digital looking designs along them filled its sleek, metal jaw. Its eyes looked as black as night, with two gold serpentine irises. From the tip of its nose, to the top of its head, multiple black spines lowly rose up from within its skull, and to follow, thousands of black spikes shot out along the side of its long, silver neck. Then, as if it weren't big enough, two silver coloured leathery wings shot out from the depths of the portal. The wings seemed to be a mix of machine, a dove and a bat. The beast roared once more, while shards of indigo light spiralled into one singular mass at the back of its throat.

"Isn't it beautiful, hedgehog," came an all too familiar voice from behind Sonic.

Ignoring the absolutely titanic condensed beam of purple energy being launched from the beast, Sonic spun around to face Eggman in the Wyvern MKII. It hovered gently in front of him, glowing faintly with a dark and gold light.

"What's going on, Eggman!" Sonic belted out, his aura growing around him. "What is that thing!"

"This what I've been after all this time," Eggman explained. "Or rather, _one_ of the things I've been after. You see, Sonic, that is Polaris. A super-ancient being of divine power. The Knuckles tribe called it a god, while others claim it to be a inter-dimensional monster. I call it the key to my victory! Once I confront it, and offer it the seven Twilight Keys, it'll have no choice but to obey my every command!"

"You haven't learned your lesson, have you, Eggman?" Sonic shouted. "After you failed to control Dark Gaia, I'd expect you to give up with super-natural forces and fight me with your own strength!"

"That's where you're wrong!" The doctor hollered, a field of purple energy beginning to form around the Wyvern. "Polaris isn't here to fight you. I'm using it to level out the entire planet in order to build my kingdom, and my empire! However, I gladly accept it's gifts of enhancing the power within my creation, as it is running off the Twilight Keys!"

With another great roar, Polaris unleashed a beam of condensed energy from its gaping mouth. The laser pierced the diamond-like exterior of the Death Egg IV, cutting into it like butter. Fire and explosions shot upwards along the point of impact, and all the way to the end of the canyon the beam had formed in the space station. Sonic's horrified gaze trailed after the Death Egg, as it split in half. The two pieces slowly drifted away from each other, forcing the Eclipse Cannon II to shut off.

Everything grew dead silent.

"Metal, I need you to distract Sonic while I commence with the destruction of planet Earth!"

Like a slave, Metal appeared once more, although significantly repaired from the last time Sonic encountered him. Dazzling electrical energy danced around Metal's body, as he took on the same faint glow that Eggman's Egg Wyvern did. It was as though Polaris was lending its own power to Eggman, specifically to help him take over the world.

"Rip him apart, Metal!" Eggman shouted viciously. "I want him _dead_!"

With a simple nod, the electrical field around Metal expanded outwards into nothingness, and then his thrusters lit up like an exploding star. Sonic grunted in surprise, and quickly grappled Metal's fist, only to have a powerful orb of electricity contact his abdomen. The orb exploded, and shot the blue hero through space at unbelievable speeds. The stars twinkling in the sky around him seemed like flashes of white light. Suddenly he felt his body halt, thanks to the white hot pain creeping up his leg.

Metal Sonic gripped his ankle with such force, Sonic felt as though it would break. The mechanical warrior quickly pulled the hero backwards, and then punched him downwards. The redirected velocity of the hits left Sonic feeling nauseous. Using the infinite power within him, Sonic unleashed a shockwave of energy behind him, stopping him from moving through the frictionless air. The screaming thrusters fixated on Metal's body filled his ear drums. Sonic created a small ball of light within his open palm and threw it up at Metal like a ball.

Black energy suddenly expanded outwards from Metal's body, guarding him from the sizzling ball of Chaos energy. As the orb came into contact with the shield, it exploded and expanded into a rotating sphere of golden light. Metal's stoic gaze remained the same as he grappled Sonic's throat and heaved the hedgehog upwards with all his might. Sonic felt his body launch upwards with such speed his cheeks seem to press against his bones. Then the walls of the Death Egg stopped him, quite abruptly for his liking too.

The blue hero groaned, noticing Eggman turn off the thrusters to his Wyvern in front of the face of Polaris.

Was he too late?

"What is it you desire, human?"

The booming voice shook the Death Egg, and seemed to echo inside Sonic's head. He couldn't tell if it was telekinesis or just the sheer force of the voice. Painfully the blue hero clutched his head, groaning in pain from the screams within.

**Location: Aboard the Typhoon**

"What's happening with Sonic?" Knuckles pointed out, a worried expression playing his and Tails' face.

"I don't know, Knuckles," Tails gulped. "He's getting destroyed out there! We have to help him!"

Tails quickly typed in a string of commands, turning the Auto-pilot feature of the craft on, allowing him to race to the doors. Both Mighty and Knuckles grappled him, yanking the young fox back from his certain doom. Tears filled in Tails eyes as he watched a gigantic burst of light erupt around Sonic from Metal's impact.

"We can't do anything, Tails!" Mighty explained. "It's best if we just let him finish this! Besides, I believe he can do it."

"Besides, Tails," Knuckles interjected. "We couldn't keep up with them even if we wanted to. We'd be more of a distraction than a help to him at this point."

"But he can't fight off all three of them!" Tails yelled.

"Tails, you know Sonic never gives up," the travelling armadillo reasoned. "You should know that better than anyone."

"But-"

"Mighty's right," Knuckles agreed. "We just need to have faith in him."

**Location: Outside the Death Egg IV**

"I said, what is it you desire, human?"

Eggman looked in awe at the brilliant beast before him. It was as if he were in a story book, looking at the great creature that only myths foretold. Air escaped from the enclosed cockpit of the Egg Wyvern, allowing Eggman's Eggmobile, equipped with a glass dome for survival in space, to hover upwards.

"So you exist after-all," Eggman commented in awe. "I can't believe it! I've finally won! I finally did it!"

The beast watched thoughtfully as the fat Doctor cheered at his victory. "I'll ask once more, what is it you desire?"

Eggman quickly cleared his throat, and bowed as though he were part of a monarch. "Greetings, Polaris," the Doctor announced politely. "I am Doctor Ivo Robotnik, and I am the genius who has awaken you from your slumber. As legends state, if the one to awaken you has collected the Twilight Keys, you will grant them one wish. Am I correct?"

"You are correct," Polaris replied in it's booming voice. "However it does not come without sacrifice."

"I am aware," Eggman nodded, as seven compartments opened up within his EggMobile. "In exchange for the Twilight Keys, I want you to exterminate that damned planet!

Seven beams of light rotated from out of the EggMobile, and then shot towards the open mouth of Polaris. The energy from the artifacts seemed to create a shockwave, which expanded outwards from the beast. Eggmans insane laugh echoed through space as his body dematerialized from where he was standing. The mass of sparkles swirled into Polaris in the same way the Twilight Keys had.

Dust and rock rose upwards from Metal Sonic's sudden impact into the border of the portal. A cloud of dust shrouded the mechanical being, as Sonic launched across the white-rock like a rocket. Wielding a pulsating orb of tightly packed Chaos Energy in his palm, Sonic yelled and smashed the attack against Metal's body, creating a thin beam of light on impact, which carried Metal away and smashed him against the Death Egg.

Sonic spun around towards the Egg Wyvern, and oblivious to the fact of Eggman's disappearance, Sonic shot towards the Wyvern in a flash of light, readying the same attack he had done away with Metal.

"Come out, Eggman!"

"Doctor Ivo Robotnik is no more," the booming voice of Polaris shook the Egg Wyvern. "He has offered his existence in order to quench his thirst for world domination."

Sonic reeled around, his eyes met with the gigantic snout of Polaris in his face. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"The fat man is dead."

"_The destiny of our reality have been planted throughout the dreams of our generation, which has now led us to our extinction." ~ Cervantes Monarcha, Coruscus Leader, 2008_

**To be Continued**

**Authors Note~ ** A little inspiration for the part with Tails comes from the Sonic OVA when he wants to chase after Sonic and Metal. Fitting, huh? Chapter 19 is already in production! Leave any tips, comments or theories in a review, please!


	19. Chapter 19: Revelations in the Calm

**Violet Dreams**

**Chapter 19: Revelations in the Calm**

"_A destruction, an annihilation that only man can provoke, only man can prevent."_

**Location: Tails Workshop, Mystic Ruins**

"What in the world is that thing!"

Amy looked curiously into the air at the beast looming over the horizon, and across the sky. It was like nothing she'd seen before! Sure, she had encountered beings very strange and, super-natural to say the least. But nothing could compare to this sight. She could only assume that the beast in the sky was the cause of all the abnormal weather patterns suddenly taking place across the world. Such as the heavy snowfall in the usually tropical Mystic Ruins. The pink hedgehog pulled her winter jacket tight around her face, shielding her cheeks from the brisk gust of wind sweeping the valley. She only hoped that Sonic, and the others of course, were all doing okay.

Somehow, though, she had a feeling it wasn't going so well up on their part. However she could say the same as Earth, too. All across the planet, people were forced to retreat from their homes due to unnatural weather, and storms taking place. As well as the sudden electrical failure across the globe. Before the power had been cut out to the Workshop, the news broadcast had shown several airliners wrecked in fields or on the sides of mountains. If the visions of ancient philosophers foretelling the end of time were correct, then these events meant Armageddon.

Amy clasped her hands tightly together, and looked down with shut eyes. All she could do from this point on was pray, and hope everything would be okay.

**Location: Outside the Death Egg IV**

"So, that's it?" Sonic questioned, his fiery aura swirling about. "Just like that?"

"I have been given the seven artifacts needed to awaken my power," Polaris' booming laugh filled Sonic's mind. "My power exists amongst all reality, it is all around us. It's infecting you, and becoming native with your body. I am all that is, all that was, all that will be. Sonic the Hedgehog, you are the harbinger of all that will mark the end of this planet."

"Ho ho!"

Hearing that annoying, and sickening, laugh, Sonic spun around in his spot. The golden light around him jumped up in fury, finding a small streak of black light come towards him. Using the powers of the Chaos emeralds, Sonic warped from his spot, avoiding a punch which shattered the white rock at his feet. Sonic quickly spun back around towards his attacker, his body floating close to the unmanned Egg Wyvern.

It was nearly identical to that of Metal Sonic, or maybe it was? Sonic couldn't tell for sure. Orange streaks lined its head, arms and torso, while two glimmering wings of energy protruded from its back.

"Who are yo-"

"My, my," the voice was too similar to Doctor Eggman. "Have you forgotten about me already, Sonic?"

Impossible. Absolutely, undoubtedly, impossible. Sonic stared at the machine in unmatched awe, completely lost of words, or even thought. How could he still be here? His organic body was gone, but he recognized that laugh, that voice, that _feeling _of his presence anywhere! Eggman was supposed to be dead, disintegrated nothingness absorbed by Polaris, not this _thing _standing below him. This day was getting crazier by the second.

"I see you haven't missed me, Sonic," Eggman, or what Sonic assumed to be, remarked. "I'm sure you must be fairly confused by the turn of events here, and I wouldn't blame you. The restrictions of a body of flesh are so..._maddening_...I've finally uncovered a fairly reasonable alternative, you see. And I must admit, it wasn't too easy to figure such a way out. But I had to, it was dependent on my masterpiece I call _Extinction._" Eggman snickered, "the human race is going to be not only eradicated, but revived as machines for my own utopia! No longer will there be a need for _food _or _air – _such trivial things will be forgotten."

"I..I don't understand," Sonic whispered to himself. "You're dead, or, supposed to be? What's going on!"

Eggman's signature insane laugh filled the small space between him and Sonic. "Very well, I suppose you deserve to know after all this," he stated, a wide grin appearing on his mechanized mouth. "First of all, that creature behind me, known as Polaris. Using the combined energies of the Chaos Emeralds to power the Eclipse Cannon II, and the Twilight Keys to amplify its power to shatter the barrier of the portal, I've awakened the beast of the Twilight. Although there was a catch! I had to sacrifice myself in order for my wish to come true. But I couldn't have that, and I needed to see my plans through. So this is where Project Dusk comes onto the chess board. Have I lost you yet, rodent?"

"Keep talking," Sonic barked back, his fiery energy growing around him.

Very well," he complied, and with a distorted sigh of happiness, continued. "Project Dusk, or otherwise my alternative to cloning is how I am here. It's simple really, I copied down my DNA onto a hard drive, and replicated my brain cells into a complete new organism. It's essentially still, I, Dr. Ivo Robotnik, but much more powerful due to the mechanical exterior, thanks to Metal, that is. So, anyways, I sacrificed my dying, organic body in order to have my wish of domination. Allow me to demonstrate the power I've been gifted!"

Extending like legs out of his back, thousands of energy formed "vine" like limbs appeared, extending hundreds of feet long. It looked like arms of a spider, or snakes coming from Eggman's new body. The vines slithered and swayed in the vacuum of space, when suddenly the robotic Doctor turned around to face the now disappearing Polaris. The vines latched around the beast, wrapping around it like a net, allowing Eggman to exert massive amounts of electrical energy into the beast's body. A deafening roar of anger came from Polaris' open jaws, as beams of purple light erupted from thousands of spots upon it's body.

"I will make this creature mine to control!" Eggman roared insanely.

Suddenly Eggman disappeared, as the vines all connected together at one singular orb of light. Sonic's crimson eyes followed a streak of white light up to the head of the enraged Polaris, watched as black energy seemed to crawl over its body as though it were bugs, forming more vine like formations across the beast's body. Eggman stood atop of the beast, laughing. Seven lights suddenly sprang to life above the Doctor's raised claws, each light spiraling outwards into glass orbs.

"This is where you _die_, Sonic the hedgehog!"

Without any sort of warning, a storm of powerful beams of energy erupted from every spot along Polaris. Sonic quickly shot through space like a rocket, evading the rows of energy being emitted from the inter-dimensional beast before him. Sonic weaved and spun through the oncoming attacks, watching _Eggman _as he jolted and twisted from the vine like appendages wrapping around the scientists newly created body. Sonic felt his stomach sink, as a powerful and deafening roar filled his ear drums.

"Shit!"

A protective shield of golden light expanded from his body, milliseconds before a devastating blast of light collided with him. A streak of fiery yellow light shot through the dark backdrop, and collided against the already collapsing Death Egg IV. The beam that had hit him quickly swirled about, becoming thinner and thinner, until finally it dispersed. Sonic groaned in pain, and hovered away from the crumbling walls of the base, his crimson eyes contemplating a plan of action.

"At this rate, all my energy is going to deplete," Sonic noted to himself, wiping away the sweat collecting above his eyes. "I need to figure out a way to get Polaris away from, well, Eggman."

He knew by now that Shadow was no longer on the Death Egg IV. Not just by assumption, but he knew that Shadow wouldn't stand to be captured before figuring out a plan of action. Sonic didn't even narrow out the possibility that Shadow had _let _himself be caught, solely for investigation purposes. Another great roar filled his mind, breaking Sonic away from his thoughts and dragging him back to the issue at hand.

"I hope you're okay, Shadow."

Sonic sighed briefly and then launched off towards the divine beast ahead of him. The golden energy swirled around his feet, leaving behind a long tail of light as he flew towards his battle. If that thing was truly a clone of Eggman's brain, then he had no doubt that he was in for more than he could see. There was without a doubt a deeper plan of action behind Polaris, and Sonic didn't want to wait until it was too late to find out just exactly what it was.

Evading another highly concentrated pillar of energy, Sonic swirled around the attack as it disintegrated once again, flying straight towards Polaris' snout. He could hear Eggman's insane laughter much clearly now, and he could tell now that his nemesis wasn't the same bumbling Doctor since the last time they had met. A swarm of black vines launched away from Polaris' skin, attempting to grab hold of Sonic. However, the golden warrior swiftly twisted through the attacking mass of energy, obliterating some of it with the chaos energy around him.

As he neared the top of the Gods head, Sonic could see the powerful purple aura growing around Eggman's new body. Sonic performed a loose barrel roll, evading a concentrated mass of white energy being launched from the Doctor, and shot upwards in a Super Sonic Boom, finally coming to a stop a couple yards away from Eggman.

"Is Shadow safe, Doctor?" Sonic questioned quietly, a hint of anger in his voice.

Laughing heartily, the Doctor released his arms from the ooze-like substance growing from the base of Polaris' head. "You should know the answer to that, hedgehog," Eggman snickered. "The stubborn fool didn't take any of my reasonable advice, and went on a rampage throughout my base! Lord knows he's probably dead now!"

Sonic clenched his fists, his temper growing more and more. "What are you trying to accomplish, Eggman?" he hollered in return. "You've destroyed plenty of cities back down on Earth, and you've even turned into something immortal. What else is there to obtain?"

The ooze-like energy suddenly disappeared from around the Doctor, allowing the mechanical deviation of Eggman to move forwards. Sonic finally got a better look at this new body of his rivals, and concluded that Metal Sonic was the base of its design. For a man who hated hedgehogs so much, it was ironic to see him take on the form of one. A bio-engineered mouth piece was clearly positioned into a smirk for the moment, and expressionless eyes hung in an abyss of black. Sonic noticed the slithering, jolting masses of energy extending from Eggman's claws.

"I want you dead, and humiliated, Sonic." Eggman snorted. "I don't just want to defeat you, I want you erased. I want you to feel the pain of defeat! You have crushed me time and time again, without so much as a laugh, and a smirk. This time, I'll be the one to look carelessly the other way as you suffer!"

Was this what all these years of opposing Eggman had done? Sure, it did feel like a game at times, but he could have never guessed that Eggman had lost it because of every defeat. A pang of sorrow, guilt and regret rose up from within Sonic, and he suddenly felt terrible. For the first time in all their confrontations, he felt remorse for actually _saving _the world!

He knew that, as a hero, he had to deal with tough decisions, such as snuffing out someones dreams – Doctor Eggman's in this case. Who knows, if Sonic had actually shown mercy, and let the Doctor escape with some form of victory, Eggman might have turned over a new leaf, and attempted to become a better man. Maybe actually dedicate his genius technology to the betterment of mankind like his grandfather had done so many years before. Sonic's head hung low, as he fought back all the sudden feelings of guilt. Finally, he worked up the courage to mutter a simple reply.

"I'm sorry."

"_Take one last look at the moon, at the calming seas around you, and at the sun above you. The stars will begin to fall. This world will be no more!" ~ Pachacamac, Knuckles Tribe Leader, 5 years before the destruction of the Nocturnus._

**To Be Continued**

**Authors Note~ **No, I did not make it this short out of lack of interest! I just wanted to leave off on this chapter, because the next one covers a lot – including the final conclusion! Only 2 chapters left people! Please, leave your comments, theories and tips in a review! And if you could, check out the Prequel to the series, "Constellations"!


	20. Chapter 20: The Fire Dawn

**Violet Dreams**

**Chapter 20: The Fire Dawn**

"_The salvation of the world is in man's suffering."_

"I'm sorry."

Eggman stood still, completely awestruck from Sonic's choice of words. Had he just _apologized _to him? Now, of all times, he was _apologizing_? The Doctor scowled dangerously, and without so much as a moment to allow the words to sink in, he grappled the golden warrior's throat between his mechanized hand. Using the new found power of his robotic body, Eggman heaved the limp hero up, his mechanically simulated mouth twisting into a devilish sneer. Sonic choked against the force of the hand around his neck, cuffing the Doctor's cold exterior with his own hand, attempting to free himself.

"What did you just say?"

Forcing air past his half closed airway, Sonic groaned. "I said I was sorry," he croaked, finally tearing Eggman's hand away from his throat. "Can you not hear now, Eggman?"

"After all this time, you apologize _now_?" he roared, as pillars of black energy erupted from the head of Polaris, flaring up with the Doctor's anger. "You've waited until _now _for an apology for your actions? Well it's too late, _hedgehog_! You've pushed me to the edge time and time again! Leading me to the brink and tipping me off into my own madness over and over! I've had enough!"

Using the strength gifted to him by his new body, Eggman smashed his fist against Sonic's chest, launching the golden warrior across the make-shift battleground. Sonic yelped, and as he slid off the edge he noticed Eggman descend upon him. A twisting flare of light swirled around Sonic, warping him from danger via Chaos Control, causing the Doctor to smash his mechanical fist into the ground – or rather Polaris' head.

A mighty roar filled their hearing, while Eggman simply ignored it, Sonic clutched his head in pain from the sheer force of the sound. Eggman cackled and appeared before the oblivious warrior, thrusting his mechanical fist up into Sonic's abdomen. Choking up a mouthful of blood from the impact, his entire body weight shifted, and launched through space from the hit.

Fighting a big, clunky robot made maneuvering and attacks simple for Sonic, but when his greatest rival was as equally agile and possible as powerful as himself, things were much more complicated. Spinning around in the anti-gravity battlefield, the golden warrior prepared a shining orb of energy within his palm, anticipating his attacker. Sure enough, the pursuit came.

"Not feeling so tough now, are we hedgehog?" the Doctor roared, a beam of energy streaking past.

With wide eyes Sonic quickly generated another golden barrier around his body, deflecting the beam of energy from Polaris just in time. However as the light cleared, and his barrier faded, Eggman caught Sonic up in a paralyzing wave of black electricity. Groaning in pain, the golden hero planted both his palms against Eggman's metallic exterior, as a fizzling, dancing mass of Chaos Energy burst into existence. Arcing flares of golden light slashed and cut at the Doctor, as a great, golden sphere began to form around Sonic's opponent. Fiery energy slashed and attacked the Doctor from all sides, then as the raging sphere of golden wind began to disperse, a golden beam of light shot straight through the Doctor, like a sword of energy.

Sonic spun around on the other side of his rival, finding that he had not only inflicted next to no damage on the mechanical Doctor, but lost track of where he went after his attack. Yelping from a pain almost alien to him, Sonic hunched over attempting to catch his breath, allowing Eggman the chance to grapple his throat once more, and deliver a bone shattering punch to his face. The golden hero rocketed downwards from the blow, noticing a flash of light where Eggman once was, and then a devastating blow smashed against his spine.

However, unwilling to give up, the golden warrior warped away from his attacker, and reappeared behind Eggman. Rings of golden light spread away from Sonic as he smashed into the Doctor's back with the use of his spin dash. A cocoon of golden energy hugged Sonic's spherical form as he launched through the dark of space like a shooting star, pushing Eggman with him.

Suddenly dust and smoke puffed outwards from the Death Egg, as Sonic spun in place against Eggman's back, grinding apart his main thruster and armour. The golden hero growled and quickly pounced back, conjuring up a swirling, twisting sphere of powerful golden energy in his hand. Another flash of light wrapped around Sonic, warping him right in front of Eggman a split second before he thrust his attack hand forwards. A tornado of golden light spun out of control away from the point of impact, creating a gigantic crater in the side of the Death Egg.

The golden hero quickly warped backwards, gaining distance from an already recovering Eggman. Using his forearms as a shield, Sonic grunted with each brutal electrified punch that the Doctor threw. He could feel the power tingle his bones, and smolder his skin. With an unquenchable thirst for Sonic's death, Eggman howled with a fit of rage, and heaved his fist backwards as it began to shine like an electrified rock. Then, like a flash of light, it found itself planted against Sonic's left shoulder.

A barrier of electricity wrapped around the two very briefly, before Sonic shot away from it, and through the gravity-less air. However, the Doctor wasn't done, not with this sort of power.

Warping just as easily as Sonic could, Eggman reformed behind his weakened rival, delivering a crushing punch into Sonic's upper back.

Blood floated through space, away from the hedgehog's mouth. Doctor Eggman cackled victoriously, and with a vice like grip, snatched his prey from in front of him, holding the hedgehog by a single hand.

A powerful torrent of dancing, black electricity sparked to life along Eggman's claw. "So is this the extent of your _super powers_, hedgehog?" he quipped. "I expected you to at least put up a fight, seeing as it's our last battle! One of us dies here, Sonic, and by the looks of it, you fit the bill!"

The smell of burning flesh and blood filled Sonic's nostrils. His stomach flipped and churned from both the horrible scent and the incredible pain shooting through his nervous system. He could feel the mechanical claws moving inside his gut, nipping at the tender flesh beyond his skin. Then, as quickly as the blow had come, he felt the hand pull out of his body, allowing blood to float freely amongst the two.

"When it comes to fun and games," Eggman snarled, a wave of electricity vaporizing the blood on his titanium claws. "You're an expert. But when it comes down to actually ending something – killing, for that matter – you're as naïve as a little child."

Throwing the limp hedgehog like a sack of rocks, Doctor Eggman turned his attention back to the now retreating Polaris. A wicked scowl formed across his mechanical muzzle, and he shot off like a rocket towards his _pet_.

**Location: Aboard the Typhoon**

"Knuckles!" Tails shouted, tears gathering in his eyes. "There has to be something we can do!"

Watching solemnly, and with a pang of guilt, the guardian clenched his eyes shut. He too was close to crying. It wasn't like him to get this emotional and worked up, but seeing one of your closest friends – no matter the rivalry – get battered into the ground, and thrown away like garbage stirred something up inside of him. His violet eyes wavered, darting across the battlefield and towards Polaris, who had let out another trembling roar.

"What is there _to do, _Tails?" he finally snapped back. "If Sonic can barely hold his own against that thing, then how are we supposed to do _anything_?"

With a painful glare of realization, Tails slumped back down on his chair. Finally, the sobbing began and the tears had started dripping to the floor. Watching quietly, Mighty stood up from his seat and walked over to the young fox, setting a hand on the boys shoulder for comfort.

"You didn't have to snap, dude," Mighty sighed. "The sooner we figure something out, the sooner we can help Sonic."

Knuckles grit his teeth and slammed his fist against the console angrily. "I've been thinking of ways to help Sonic out ever since they started fighting, Mighty!" He grunted, and turned his watery eyes back to Polaris with a look that one got with a brilliant plan. "Wait a minute! Tails, did you fit the Typhoon with any sort of weapons? You know, like guns or somethin'?"

With a short sniffle, and a wipe of his eyes, Tails nodded. "Of course, all my models of the Tornado come standard with a weapons system," he noted. "Why?"

"Doctor Eggman hit that portal thing with a powerful blast of energy to awaken it," Knuckles explained, excitement lining his voice.

"So if we hit it again, it might disappear?" Mighty concluded.

**Location: Outside the Death Egg**

Meanwhile, Sonic slammed against a chunk of the Death Egg. His head jerked backwards, knocking his skull against the rock behind him. He stared hopelessly upwards, contemplating the turn of events, and his next move. He set a trembling hand over the impalement in his abdomen, blood seeping through the creases in his fingers and staining his gloves crimson. Slowly the fiery aura around his body began to retreat, leaving only the faint golden color along his quills, which began to lose its shine.

"This can't end here," Sonic murmured to himself. "I can't let Eggman win, not now."

Amidst coughing and spilling blood, the super powered hedgehog forced himself to his feet. With shaky knees, and blurred vision, Sonic stood almost to full height, noticing a sphere of unfathomable sizes envelope both Eggman and Polaris.

What had the Doctor become?

Sonic stumbled forwards, attempting to regain his power and blast off towards Eggman once again, but tripped and fell to his knees. His coughing continued while more blood poured to the ground beneath his wound. Saliva gathered at the edge of his lips, and blood stained his body. With a heavy groan, he closed his eyes, trying to regain focus and dismiss the pain from his wound, but found it nearly impossible.

_Use me._

His eyes shot open, revealing a terrified crimson gaze. What was that voice?

_You pathetic little hedgehog, you have all the power in the world at your disposal! _

A sharp pain darted past his temples, and down his neck. Above all the other agony he was feeling, he could add a migraine to the list.

_Open your heart to what's locked within, you foolish hedgehog!_

With a mighty scream, Sonic felt like his insides were being ripped apart. A bloody glove grasped at his chest, leaving a red streak down his golden fur. His heart slammed against his ribcage in uneven, rapid beats. Screaming now, Sonic slumped over, being forced to slam his eyes shut due to the unbearable pressure building behind them. He coughed and choked, as blood dripped past his teeth, splattering against the cement he sat upon.

More screams left his mouth, as he squeezed his fists tighter, red liquid beginning to drip from the pressure he was exerting. This pain was unreal. He couldn't even begin to describe it. Sonic clamped his teeth against his bottom lip, drawing more of the thick red liquid, as the ripping pain inside his body grew and grew, until finally he couldn't bear it any longer. With a sudden gasp, his sight switched to black and he fell over. Blood gathered around his motionless body, as his breathing slowed to a steady heave.

**Location: Unknown**

Green orbs of vision shot to life, darting side to side in panic. He had been here before, right before they had landed on the Death Egg. A chill ran down his spine, remembering the creature he had been confronted with in his last visit. Sonic turned around in a full circle, trying to decipher where he was exactly. Again, blackened skies twisted and convulsed against the golden horizon. It was like two divine entities fighting for supremacy over the sky. His eyes trailed along the horizon to flaming ball of purple light. He assumed that was the sun for now.

Then he felt his feet touch against something solid. Looking down he noticed a long, marble run way had formed in front of him, leading through death defying drops, turns and corners. He saw it as a race track. He focused his eyes as far ahead on the path as he possibly could, attempting to scout out the ending, but to no such luck.

With a brief sigh, Sonic leaned backwards briefly, and then eased forwards as his feet propelled him across the first straight away. The gold, purple and black sky swirled together at the speed he was moving, forcing him to keep his eyes ahead of him. Sonic decreased his speed only momentarily, as he swung around a tight corner, and then launched straight upwards along a cliff side. The pathway curved along the edge of the cliff, leading towards a downwards helix, which then led into a steep drop. Sonic leaned forwards and accelerated, winding through the spiraling descent in nothing more than a flash of light. Using his left leg to bounce back into a straight line, the blue shell around him shifted only for a second before returning to its streamline fashion.

Noticing a couple sharp swerves, Sonic bounded left and right as he saw fit, evading the sudden drop-offs that threatened his trek. His feet became a blur as he accelerated further, winding through the gigantic loop, and down into the darkness below.

The pathway disappeared, and allowed Sonic to free fall towards a single patch of grass. The blue hero landed softly against the soft vegetation, and looked around as he stood back up. He whistled quietly at the sight ahead of him.

A crumbling shrine straight ahead of him seemed to be lit by an unknown source of light. And as he looked further within its darkened entry way, he could feel that same voice clawing at his mind.

"Free me!"

Sonic trembled slightly. Partially out of fear, and partially from the sudden brutality of the voice. It was no longer just in his head, but it boomed and echoed throughout wherever it was he stood. The blue hero gulped fretfully and proceeded to walk forwards, feeling obligated to do so. His jade eyes kept a solid gaze on the dark entrance – it looked like it was moving; shifting in the light. He heard a scream. A demonic scream of a tortured soul.

Another chill ran down his spine as he grew closer and closer to the entry way. The light had begun to dim the further he strayed from his safe patch of grass. He saw a pair of violet eyes loom in the darkness now, and heard the heavy breathing of whatever belonged to the set of eyes. Sonic walked past the two pillars that marked the entrance of the shrine, and wandered inside, just as all the light available faded.

"What..are you?" he whispered in fear.

"You," it replied in a heavily distorted voice.

He could feel the warm breath of the beast land against his chest. Judging by where his eyes were, Sonic guessed that whatever this thing was, it was about his height, but probably slouching. Hollow, purple eyes stared into his green ones. He noticed there were no pupils, or irises for that matter; just round masses of violet.

Sonic stepped back quickly, as he heard the beasts feet scuffle. Feeling something sharp press against two sides of his chest, Sonic grasped whatever it was touching him, attempting to hold back the force coming towards him.

Were these horns?

Then, all in one swift motion he was knocked onto his back, the violet orbs above him now. The warm breath landed against his face, as cold ooze-like liquid dripped onto his fur. He heard the swift cutting of dirt beside him, guessing that the horns had dug into the ground now. Sonic shot his attention back upwards, finding a white, gaping hole lined with blackened, sharp teeth.

"You think you can win?" it questioned devilishly, with a snicker. "You're nothing without that cliché super form of yours!"

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Sonic shouted, gaining a sudden spark of confidence.

However, with a sudden snap from the beasts jaws, and a deadly snarl, his confidence disappeared as quick as it had come.

"You are weak," it laughed. "How do you expect to defeat someone intent on killing you, when you don't know how to kill yourself?"

The voice echoed through the entire shrine. It shook the realm Sonic resided in, shaking his very bones. Then, as before, he was sucked backwards with such force he could feel his skin being pulled back. The demonic gaze of the laughing beast followed him, as its jaws enveloped his field of vision.

Darkness washed across the golden horizon, as lightning flashed and thunder roared across the landscape.

"_In our day and age, we look up to what we call a "hero" for our safety. But what defines a hero? Their stone-cold will to oppose something no one else will? Or their fearless exterior? Maybe even the way they can sacrifice their own safety, for the betterment of others?" ~ General Cervantes Monarcha, Coruscus Leader, 2008_

**To Be Continued**

**Authors Note~ **Well, we're closer to the end of this epic battle! Expect to see a full chapter of craziness next time! Who can guess what's going to happen next? Cookie if you guess right! I found the last scene significantly enjoyable to write. It's always fun striking fear into Sonic! Leave your comments, theories and tips in a review!

PS: some major influencing songs for this chapter are, "The Fire Dawn" by Oh Sleeper, "the Finisher" by Oh Sleeper, "Crowns of Creation" by DevilDriver (significantly the first scene), "Blur" by Devildriver, "World without a Sun" by Oh Sleeper, and "Pangea (Performed by the Bells)" by August burns Red


	21. Chapter 21: Vengeance

**Violet Dreams**

**Chapter 21: Vengeance**

"_Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies."_

Bubbles grew and popped in a repeated fashion from the heat around him. Steam rolled off the blood beneath Sonic's body, as it began to evaporate. He quivered dangerously with each growl he let out. The golden light that cloaked his quills finally retreated, but now a thin line of gold etched its way up from his palms to his shoulders. It looked as though ancient words were being written along his skin. Another deep growl escaped his quivering lips, and finally his head shot upwards. His quills suddenly kinked upwards, gaining a feral edge to them, as a wave of black light erupted across his body, dying his fur a dark navy.

His breathing became heavy and uneven. Sonic stood up effortlessly, his gloves stained red from his own blood, and as he walked forwards along the slab of cement, he left bloody foot prints in his wake. His shoulders rose and fell steadily in accordance to his heavy breathing, and finally his bright green eyes darkened to a shade almost black. Clenching his fists tight, Sonic's knuckles cracked from the pressure. The hedgehog warrior rolled his head along his shoulders, cracking his neck as well, as a sinister grin spread across his face.

"Here I come."

A cold, cruel and dark tone quickly overtook his once caring, sincere voice. Then, like a fire beneath his feet, a purple energy began to spin and jump, until finally it spiraled upwards like a vortex. Ribbons of sparkling blue energy spun away from the violet cloaking of light, just as Sonic turned his attention towards the now dying sphere around Polaris.

The light surrounding his body abruptly retreated back into his body, and with no more than a swirling mass of white light, he was gone.

* * *

Eggman howled in laughter, his arms spread wide as snake like appendages slithered out from the sphere and dug into his body. Polaris roared out more so, it's own life force being literally sucked out by the Doctor, and used as his own. As the sphere retreated back into the center of the gigantic beast, it's brilliant golden irises disappeared against a mass of glowing darkness. Vine-looking black markings crept across its entire body, bulging like veins beneath skin. The Doctor chuckled in victory, holding his mechanical hands up in front of the beast, as the serpentine appendages dissolved into sparkles.

"Yo, Eggman!" Sonic's distorted voice called out.

A powerful grip suddenly tightened around the Doctor's mechanical throat, his sensors alerting him the moment pressure was asserted. Rings of energy spun away from the Doctor as he was thrust downwards by an unknown force. His optical sensors darted and swiveled around, finding only the hollow, dark green eyes narrowed in front of him. Smoke and an explosion of light replaced that sight, as his body smashed against the border around Polaris. A vicious punch cracked against Eggman's left arm, crushing it's armor and damaging the circuitry beneath. Sparkles fizzled from the impact, distracting Eggman from the next powerful punch.

Darkness overtook the Doctor's optical sensors, as a heavy aura burst to life over top of him. Within it, the darkened Sonic knelt silently over top of his nemesis, with another fist ready to strike. Regaining his senses, Eggman flung his arms in front of his face, attempting to block the inhuman strength exerted by Sonic. Cracks darted across the border of rock, as a gap suddenly swallowed the Doctor up. Rock became crushed pebbles from the velocity that Eggman flew downwards at, all thanks to Sonic's single punch.

Electricity jumped out from within Eggman's body, deflecting any further damage from his descent through the thick rock ridge. Smoke and dust swooshed outwards from each impact that the Doctor's barrier had with the rock, but the debris was the least of his worries. Scanning through the dust as he exited through to the bottom of the rock, Eggman spun around to right his body, and turned to search for Sonic. Another vicious blow landed against the Doctor's body, this time against his chest.

A loud _crunch _sounded through Eggman's sensors, as his entire body shot backwards. Swirling, white energy replaced Sonic in front of the Doctor, allowing the dark hedgehog to warp behind his rival and clutch the Doctor's already damaged arm, and swing the mechanical genius upwards against the rock barrier above them. More dust swooped outwards from the impact, only to be blown away by a streak of dark blue light. Sonic sneered, baring his sharpened canines.

Doctor Eggman's eyes darted past the hedgehogs ferocious expression, finding a swirling mass of dark energy erupting into existence. The blue energy spun and swiveled as it grew to the size of a basketball above Sonic's open hand. A beastly roar sounded, this time from Sonic, and not Polaris.

"What the hell are you?" Eggman roared.

"Sonic the Hedgehog," he retorted.

Pressing against his mechanical oppressor, Sonic growled and slung the orb of light against the Doctor. A field of rotating and spinning dark blue energy exploded outwards like an atomic bomb, ripping apart a chunk of the white rock that they were up against. From the sphere of light came a thin beam of the same color. At first widening, and then compressing downwards as it struck the Death Egg IV.

Hanging limp against the beam of light, Doctor Eggman watched as Sonic swung his arm upwards, which was connected to the powerful beam of energy. Explosions ripped across the exterior of the Death Egg, as the dark hedgehog slung Doctor Eggman upwards, effectively severing the previously damaged arm. Sparks leaped and jumped from the open wiring, as green fluid gushed away from the open joint. The beam of energy suddenly spiraled away into a thin stream of sparkling blue specs of light, allowing Sonic the freedom to pursue the Doctor.

Snatched away from his upwards tumble, Eggman once again found himself pressed against the solid surface. Gingerly looking behind him, he found that the black vines moving across Polaris began reaching out towards his own mechanical body. Sonic stared at his rival hollowly, the purple aura around his body retreating back into his chest.

"Surrender, Doctor," Sonic remarked.

Taken back by the sudden harshness in his voice, Eggman stuttered momentarily. "If you think you've won, hedgehog, think again," Robotnik retorted casually. "This is precisely why I converted myself into this form!"

A mad laughter ensued the Doctors words. High pitch screams or calls filled both of their hearing, as the vines latched onto Eggman like leaches, and began wrapping around him like an unstoppable plague. Slowly the vines slithered across the Doctor's LED eyes, multiplying and spreading over him until finally he disappeared, forcing Sonic to rip his hand free before he too was taken.

A vicious snarl crept across Sonic's lips as he floated backwards, avoiding the screaming vines of darkness attempting to latch onto him as well.

_What are you doing? Kill him!_

Grunting with pain, the dark blue hedgehog clutched his forehead, fighting back the nagging voice in the back of his head.

_Let me give you more power!_

Shaking his head, the already darkened hedgehog growled desperately, his arms tensing. The golden light across his arms began to glow brighter, as white particles of energy began to form a faint outline of curved, jagged horns. The outline of energy connected just above his eye ridges, and jutted outwards a foot and a half, giving him a demonic appearance.

_You can slaughter that god damn bafoon, and rule the world if you desired it!_

With a growl, Sonic pulled his hands away from his head, leaving bloody marks against his darker fur. His body pulsed a faint white, as the same purple aura jumped back to life around him.

Averting his eyes upwards at the laughing Doctor atop of Polaris, Sonic's lip twitched, and he disappeared.

* * *

Sonic reappeared just as Polaris released another beam of light, forcing the hedgehog to warp further away for safety. However, he returned to his pursuit once he found an opening and rocketed towards the laser.

With ease, the dark hedgehog avoided the devastating laser being fired from the gigantic maw of Polaris. Ignoring the explosions from the Death Egg being ripped apart further, Sonic swirled around the beam of light, creating a vortex of energy around it, until finally a small barrier of black energy wrapped around Sonic. The tainted warrior darted upwards from beneath the attack, and began zipping directly into the jaws of the beast, as the beam flared outwards from the disturbance within it.

Finally reaching its open maw, Sonic released his barrier, allowing it to expand outwards at an unbelievable pace. The force of the barrier smashed against Polaris' jaws, threatening to tear them from place – but disappeared before doing so. Sonic spiraled upwards, around the two large fangs at the edges of the beasts mouth, and smashed up through the roof of Polaris' mouth with ease.

A roar echoed throughout Sonic's mind, this time out of pain. The blue hedgehog burst through the top of the beasts skull, as he hurled an orb of light at the Doctor, who had been covered with the black vines from head to toe.

"Hahahahah!" the Doctor howled in laughter, as the attack collided with his outer shell, being soaked up "There's nothing you can do now, even with that intriguing form you've taken on, hedgehog! However, I do congratulate you for even being able to inflict damage on my pet here, that's a feat even I can't manage in _this_ state! Tell me, Sonic, what is it you've transformed into this time? It's certainly not anything you've shown before. Such _raw _power is unheard of from the likes of you!"

Sonic remained silent, staring down his rival with a deathly gaze. "What happened to all the quips and witty remarks, hmm?" Eggman snapped, the vines crawling like bugs over his body. "Or have you begun to realize I can't be beaten?"

Particles of golden light began to rotate and swirl into a singular mass in between Sonic's newly adorned horns. A wicked snarl appeared across his face, as suddenly he disappeared in a flash of light. With a snort of disapproval, Doctor Eggman swung both his arms upwards, creating a wall of transparent energy in front of him a split second before Sonic reappeared and unleashed a titanic blast of energy.

The blast swirled and shot outwards against the barrier, but eventually, it broke through and collided with the Doctor, only to be absorbed like his previous attack. However, this time steam rose upwards from the Doctor, as several segments of the disease along his body fell to the ground with a painful cry, only for their spot to be replaced instantly.

_That's his weakness! Exploit it! Obliterate him!_

"You see, Sonic," Eggman began, clutching the hedgehog with an arm formed of the vines around him. "There's no possible way you can touch me with anything created by Chaos Energy. I have the perfect defense! Anything you throw at me can be soaked up like water to a sponge, and if I so please..."

The vines scurried away from a central point in the Doctor's chest, "Return it right back at you!"

Shards of black energy spun and darted outwards from the opening in the Doctor's chest, as a destructive ray of light shot outwards into Sonic. The powerful attack carried the unsuspecting hero through space, only for an unrealistically long arm formed of the black vines to grapple hold of him once more and sling him back. However, with a deadly growl, Sonic unleashed a sphere of energy around him, scorching and tearing apart the vines, allowing him to fly back down at Eggman.

"Then I'll pound you into the ground!" Sonic bellowed.

The darkened hedgehog threw his fist, planting it firmly against Eggman's head. The Doctor's mechanical cranium snapped to the left, as Sonic followed through with the devastating punch, and followed up with driving his knee upwards into his opponents body. Flares of purple swirled and darted away from the point of impact, shooting Eggman upwards into space and away from Polaris.

However, the vines slithered and rotated to the ground, forming a rope like mass of darkness, pulling the Doctor back at speeds that matched even Sonic. Jumping back just in time to avoid a powerful stomp by Eggman, Sonic curled up into a ball and launched at his rival like a bullet. Rings of white light spun outwards from Sonic as he collided with the Doctor, smashing them both through the many screaming vines of darkness, and into space once again. Doctor Eggman snickered deviously, and swiped his arm against the hedgehog, and though it was easily sliced off from the velocity that Sonic was spinning, the blue hedgehog shot backwards.

Slithering down from his shoulders, the vines began to wrap and compress together into new arms, more organic and human than his previous arms. Eggman cackled and threw an open palm forwards at Sonic, his arm extending and expanding as it neared the recovering hedgehog.

Peering through a single eye, Sonic quickly recovered his bearings and warped forwards to stop the growing gap between him and Eggman, only to come face to face with the Doctors newly formed hand.

"You're pathetic!" the Doctor screamed.

A jagged, curved blade of light suddenly shot upwards from Sonic's arm as he swung it up, severing the hand from the wrist. The darkened hero once again warped in front of Eggman with a reeled fist, and slung it forwards. The force of Sonic's attack crashed into Eggman like a train, knocking the mechanical deviation across space, and back towards the corrupt beast that had just fired another attack.

Sonic's eyes darted towards the beam, finding it approaching Tails shuttle at a rapid pace. Another flash of light filled the dark void as Sonic reappeared in front of the unsteady Doctor. The dark hedgehog smashed the Doctor against the side of Polaris' head with such force, cracks began to spread across its metallic hide. The beast screamed with pain and anger, its beam dissolving before it could collide with the Typhoon. With a deathly growl Sonic threw his fist towards Eggman once again, this time it shone with a violent cloaking of blue light.

However, like the last time Eggman had come against Polaris' body, he disappeared. Sonic's fist collided with the spot the Doctor once occupied, creating a dome of light from the impact, which then shifted and exploded into a pillar of energy. When it had died out, Sonic had already disappeared and renewed his chase.

_Kill him! Paint that rock with his blood and assert your dominance!_

_Rip him to shreds, stop defying me and kill that bastard!_

Sonic's shoes clicked against the rough exterior of Polaris' head, as he stumbled and fell to his knees. He growled in pain, the black vines scurrying away from him with what seemed to be fear. His shadow lurched and jumped, resembling a demon rather than himself. The golden markings across his arms shone fiercely, as his ever-materialized horns began to solidify into a golden bone-like substance.

_Tear him limb from bloody limb!_

Sonic jolted his head upwards, bearing his teeth as he screamed in pain, fear and frustration. The golden markings crept up along his skin, and along his face. Eggman gulped in fear momentarily, but regained his composure, and grinned at the sight of his most agonizing threat squirm in pain. If this new form had begun to wear off, then surely he had the upper hand over his anthro rival this time!

"What's the matter, hedgehog?" Eggman bellowed. "Can't continue your _onslaught_?"

Once again Sonic bit his lip, causing blood to drip and fall, but evaporate from the heat around his body. The nagging, malicious voice inside his head laughed, mocking him for his weakness.

"I..." he whispered.

Eggman grew silent from his laughter, as a wide grin formed on his face. "Hm, what's that, hedgehog?" he remarked. "You give up?"

"I..I'm..going to.."

"Speak up you grotesque rodent!"

"I'm going to kill you, Eggman."

His voice become distorted; deep and menacing. It was laced with the malice found in lore telling of creatures of darkness, or hell. His shadow lurched once again, before reverting back to what it should be. Sonic's body shook; not out of anger, or pain, but delight. He chuckled quietly with a drooped head, as the golden markings pulsed in the darkness of space. Eggman could only watch in shock, and disbelief as his attacker darted towards him. Sonic's actions had become beastly; instinctual and vicious.

The golden bone structure of the horns jabbed into Eggman's chest ripping apart the armor and digging through to the other side. Sonic overpowered the Doctor and slammed him to the ground, laughing deviously. Swirling into existence, another orb of light manifested in between Sonic's golden energy-formed horns, and slowly began to spin, collecting power.

"You say you can absorb anything?" he sneered, the orb growing and growing.

"Wha-what're you doing?"

"Game over, Doctor!"

It took only a nanosecond for the orb to detonate, and erupt with such devastation, that the black vines were torn to oblivion. The blue and purple dome of light expanded, and over-took the entire head of Polaris, obliterating its metallic outer-shell of skin, and eradicating any of the vines found within the attacks range. Eggman's screams and curses echoed, until finally they were overtaken. Flares of swirling flame-like energy jolted out from the blast, when suddenly it spun inwards, and exploded back out into a helix of light, vaporizing Eggman's body and leaving Sonic's shadow within.

"_Inside, we are all given potential. The potential for many things; some of them good and some bad. How we harness that potential is the true determining factor of our existence as a species." Doctor Gerald Robotnik, World Renowned Scientist, 1953 – during his imprisonment_

**To Be Continued**


	22. Chapter 22: Interlude

**Violet Dreams**

**Chapter 22: Beginning of the End**

"_To win in life, don't fear in life."_

"Game over, Doctor!"

It took only a nanosecond for the orb to detonate, and erupt with such devastation, that the black vines were torn to oblivion. The blue and purple dome of light expanded, and over-took the entire head of Polaris, obliterating its metallic outer-shell of skin, and eradicating any of the vines found within the attacks range. Eggman's screams and curses echoed, until finally they were overtaken. Flares of swirling flame-like energy jolted out from the blast, when suddenly it spun inwards, and exploded back out into a helix of light, vaporizing Eggman's body and leaving Sonic's shadow within.

**Location: Unknown**

Pain erupted throughout his entire body, filling his nervous system. With clenched eyes, Sonic gripped at the golden horns penetrating his abdomen, attempting to rip them free of his body. A fierce growl of anger filled the air, shaking the stone structure around them. Golden light had begun to wrap around him and the beast over top of him, as a purple energy soaked into the blue hero's body. Sonic grit his teeth in pain, blood dripping from the rips in his gloves from the sharp edges of the beasts horns. Finally the beast shook it's horns free, and plunged them back into the ground beside Sonic's head, its clawed hands gripping his shoulders.

"Yes," it whispered. "Give into me and let my power fill you to the brim. Kill all that stand in your way!"

**Location: Outside the Death Egg IV**

Slowly the great dome of power shrunk back into Sonic's body. He heaved in breaths, and snorted his exhales like an animal. His horns had now extended a bit, further solidifying from the white and gold energy that created them. The same glowing illustrations had slowly crept their way down his chest and alongside his rib cage. Growling with rage, Sonic turned to face the oncoming Typhoon. With a malicious sneer, he disappeared in a flash, landing on the nose of the shuttle.

Sonic let out another otherworldly roar, and manifested another spinning orb of light within his palm. Ribbons swirled outwards, and back into the attack as it grew to size.

Within the craft, the hero trio watched in horror as blood began to drip from random spots across their friend's body. Finally, the attack disintegrated and spun into nothing more than a flash of light, which soon swallowed Sonic up, sending him to his knees in a screaming and bloody heap. Tentacles of dark energy leaped from his back, gripping onto the shuttle with such force, the Typhoon wavered in its flight.

"What's happening to him?" Tails hollered in panic.

"I wish I knew, Tails," Knuckles retorted, watching intently. "We have to find a way to stop him, or else we're goners!"

"But how?" Mighty remarked, stumbling against a wall from the violent shaking. "Neither of us can get out there!"

Another roar escaped Sonic, as the arms of energy gripped onto his body, creating devastating tremors that threatened to break the Typhoon apart.

**Location: Unknown**

"Kill them all, Sonic," the beast whispered, its hot breath caressing Sonic's face. "Slaughter them, and exert your dominance!"

"No!" the blue hero shouted, his eyes flashing crimson. "They're my _friends_!"

"Only because you can save them!" it shouted back, saliva dripping onto Sonic's face. "They couldn't care less about you if you were _normal_!"

The white rock structure surrounding the two suddenly spun away into dust, revealing a chaotic wasteland of violet and gold, with a black sun in the distance. Lightning struck at random points along the ground, as golden chains fell from the sky around the interlocked _twins_. Sonic stared confidently into the eyes of the beast, as a golden flame began to spread across his body.

"I care about them all the same!" he retorted, his voice becoming louder. "It's my duty as a hero to save innocent lives and protect others!"

Instead of a harsh reply, the beast laughed. It's voice boomed, shaking the entire wasteland they resided in. Thunder cracked from its voice, as the golden chains exploded all around them, forming black particles of light, which hung like stars in the golden field of light. Suddenly the beast's claws tightened against Sonic's body, shredding his flesh in the process.

"You're naïve, young one," it snarled, returning its hollow gaze to Sonic. "No one is innocent. Not one of those pathetic sacks of flesh on that planet are _pure. _They all deserve to rot, and be punished for their misdoings. You agree with me, Sonic, I know you do because I am that part of your mind. I'm the part of you that wants to kill – no, _screams _to kill. I'm the part of you that's locked away so deep, you forget about it. You let it build and build until..."

A flash of lightning struck the ground beside them, lighting a black and gold fire. "You break, and let me out. If it weren't for that wretched man releasing Polaris, I wouldn't have had the strength to break free of that god forsaken cage you've put me in!"

"Shut up!" Sonic shouted, clenching his eyes shut as tears filled them. "I am not a monster, and I'm not buying your lies for a second!"

A swarm of golden chains shot up from the ground, wrapping tightly around the beast. They tightened and locked together, covering the beasts entire body like wrappings for a mummy, leaving only its horns and eyes visible. It's booming laugh filled the air, as the chains ripped the beast backwards, pulling it back through the ground. Suddenly, the golden field of light in the horizon shot across the blackness, lighting the entire world with a warm light that only Sonic could truly feel at this point.

**Location: Outside the Death Egg IV**

A golden flash shot upwards from Sonic, burning up the black tendrils around him, and quickly expanding into a large dome of light. The trio within the Typhoon yelped, covering their eyes to save them from being blinded from the warming yellow light. Waves of calming heat spread through the cockpit of the craft, as the golden light began to expand further, giving off flares of golden energy that let off spirals of white sparkles. In the background, Polaris screamed, its body beginning to burn from the intense light from Sonic.

Finally, it ceased and disappeared like nothing had happened. However, Sonic became visible, kneeling down against the nose of the Typhoon. His now golden quills wavered gently from the golden aura flickering around his body. White sparkles glistened upwards away from his feet and quills, as the energy swirled upwards the second he stood up. The golden warrior flashed a reassuring smile towards his comrades, giving them a thumbs up.

"Sorry for the scare guys," he spoke, his voice surprisingly calm. "I'm not sure what happened back there, but I think it has to do with big ol' ugly bird over there! I felt strange every time it roared or somethin', like a voice inside my head was controlling me."

"Maybe it's the energy from the Twilight Keys, Sonic!" Tails responded quickly, smiling as he wiped away his tears. "Get rid of that thing fast, before anything happens again!"

"Yeah, you almost killed us!" Knuckles barked. "And you call me the knucklehead!"

"Quick, Sonic!" Mighty called out. "Go smash that thing and let's go find Shadow while we still can!"

Suddenly a dazzling, swirling mass of purple energy shot past them. Rings of white light shone around the blast as it collided with the Death Egg IV. Rays of violet washed across the entire space station, tearing apart its outer shell first, then finally beginning to eat away at the inner layers. The heroes watched in horror as the beam pierced directly through the core of the vessel, vaporizing the main computer system. Suddenly, the beam exploded outwards, turning into a gigantic sphere of light, with rings of black energy swirling around it like snakes. Then faster than the blink of an eye it disappeared, leaving only debris where the Death Egg once was.

"_In the wake of terror, a soldier must suppress his feelings of doubt, fear and compassion. He must act as though programmed to do so, think about the goal, and nothing but the goal at hand. In war, error exists only to the dead." ~ Shrike Errgon, Commanding General of GUN, 2009_

**To Be Continued**

**Authors Note~ **Yes yes, it's short. But, I didn't want to fit the battle between Sonic and Polaris together with this chapter. Gotta love cliff hangers ;D

As usual, please leave your comments, theories and tips in a review!


	23. Chapter 23: Empire

**Violet Dreams**

**Chapter 23: Empire**

"_Success doesn't come to you; you must go get it."_

Feeling calm, rather than sorrow, Sonic watched the debris float further away from each other. He was peaceful, and he felt more power than ever. The golden warrior sighed to calm his breathing, then turned to his comrades.

"Listen to me, Tails." He smiled, "I need you to go back to the workshop and make sure Amy is okay. Go help GUN with all the wounded, and start cleaning up down there. I'll take care of ugly over there, and I'll be back before you know it."

A moment of silence passed, as the hedgehog's words sunk into everyones head. However, Knuckles finally broke the silence.

"What about Shadow?" he questioned. "He's the reason we came up here in the first place we -"

"I saw two shuttles fly down to earth from the Death Egg IV. Shadow was without a doubt aboard one of them. I know he is, because Shadow plans everything out before he does anything. He had planned on being captured, so he could get information on what Eggman was doing. Shadow works three steps ahead, at all times. I know in my heart he's safe."

"Sonic, are you sure you don't need us?" Tails questioned worriedly, tears in his eyes. "What if you need help? No one will be here to help you!"

A flash of light filled the cockpit of the Typhoon, as Sonic rested his hand on Tails shoulder. A warmth unlike any other filled them all, giving them a sense of calmness; like an angel would in times of strife. The golden warrior's peaceful gaze reassured them all that he would be okay. Tails sniffed back his tears and hugged his older brother tightly.

Returning the embrace to the young fox, Sonic smiled and nodded towards Mighty and Knuckles. "You two have to help keep him safe down there, alright? There'll still be a lot of Eggmans pawns running around. You can tell Rouge that Shadow is safe, too."

"Will do, Sonic." Knuckles nodded.

Another flash of light filled the Typhoon, as Sonic started his assault on Polaris. Projectiles of dark energy shot past Sonic like spears, whilst the beast roared and began rising upwards from the portal of which it came. The black vines covering the creature squirmed and screamed from the sudden movement. The rock crumbled like frail glass, as Polaris ascended. Slowly it's entire body became free, revealing a second set of longer, more muscular arms directly beneath its smaller ones. Another pair of wings expanded outwards like those of an eagle, and finally two large, clawed legs followed by a long winding tail appeared.

Sonic grinned, golden energy beginning to swirl around his feet into a long tail of light as he gained speed.

"Alright, big guy," he began. "I know you're a bit confused, but I gotta get rid of you before you cause anymore damage!"

With a sudden flap of all four of its wings, the white barrier around Polaris exploded into a field of debris. Black light suddenly wrapped around each trace of stone, before launching towards Sonic like meteors. Using his extreme speed, the golden hero swirled and darted between the larger chunks of rock, while shooting directly through some of the more fragile ones. Bolts of golden lightning shot off of Sonic each time he boosted faster and faster.

Polaris roared out like never before, shaking the Typhoon and everything around it. Grinning still, Sonic sped through a gigantic piece of debris from the Death Egg IV. Cracks darted outwards from the point of impact, causing it to shatter like glass. Polaris roared and unleashed a twisting beam of light from its mouth, aimed at Sonic. The golden warrior quickly came to a halt, and launched upwards like a flash of light, avoiding the laser as it ripped apart the debris and rock around it. Sonic spun around the beam as if it were a static object, while using a barrier of Chaos Energy every so often to deflect the spear like projectiles coming from Polaris.

Finally coming within a couple hundred feet of Polaris, Sonic charged up a Super Sonic Wind within his palm. Flares of golden light spun and flickered outwards as the attack grew. The golden warrior charged forth, accelerating even faster than he had before. Once the distance had been eliminated, Sonic smashed the titanic attack against Polaris' snout. Golden blades of energy spun and circled around the dome of light the attack had created, ripping apart the armour along the beast's head. The attack suddenly died out, effectively angering the beast further. Sonic's crimson eyes darted to his right, noticing the Typhoon making its way back down to earth. He smiled, knowing that they were safe.

Now the real battle could start.

Screaming in rage, the beast began to rise up after the fleeting hedgehog, it's wings pulsing and flapping to give it movement. It's jaws clamped shut just behind Sonic's feet, sending a shockwave outwards. Sonic yelped as he was hurtled forwards, only stopping himself with the use of his own chaos shockwave. The golden hero quickly regained his speed and began flying through space, and towards the moon with Polaris hot on his heels.

Sonic spun around, firing off a dozen high powered orbs of energy. As they collided with Polaris, they each exploded into a swirling domes of energy across the creature's body, tearing apart its tough hide. A vicious beam of purple energy flew past Sonic, obliterating the bottom half of the already damaged moon.

A flash back raced through Sonic's mind, reminding him of the devastating ARK incident five years ago. Sonic quickly sped through the debris, and through the crater that now lined the underside of the gigantic rock orbiting Earth. Polaris flew above the moon, the force of its flapping wings kicking up deadly dust storms along the surface of the chunk of grey rock. Sonic launched up once clearing the length of the moon, and shot faster towards the next planet, eager to drag Polaris as far away from Earth as possible.

"C'mon, big guy." Sonic called, "I know you can do better than that!"

_You know you need me._

A snicker escaped Sonic, and he smiled. "No, I have the power to do this myself!"

The roar of the beast behind him broke Sonic free of his trance, as Venus came into view. He thought maybe he could lose Polaris there, before anything major happened. The golden warrior suddenly dipped down, and towards the cloudy planet, Polaris screaming behind him as thousands of projectiles rocketed past him, followed by another dense burst of energy. Sonic grunted and weaved around the projectiles occasionally using a Super Sonic Wind to obliterate a swarm of them. The golden hero turned his attention to the planet below him, finding the swarming clouds of sulphuric acid spin away from the vicious attack. The beam died out, trailing back upwards to Polaris in a thin line of light, and then disappeared.

A flash of golden light shot across the darkness of space, as Sonic descended down through Vensus' atmosphere. Lightning flashed all around him, as thunder threatened to deafen him from the frequency of which it occurred. A flash of gold shot through the harsh climate of the desolate planet, as the sudden disturbance of energy caused active volcanoes to erupt. Polaris roared, its wings swatting away most of the harsh clouds in the atmosphere. Sonic picked up his speed, and dropped down to the surface of the planet, where seas of magma existed rather than solid earth. Sonic hoped that he could beat Polaris into the heat of the magma, and let it burn.

"Alright, let's see if my plan works!"

Using Chaos Control, Sonic warped from his current position and above Polaris. The golden warrior suddenly launched downwards in a brilliant comet of golden energy, and smashed against the beasts body. It screamed out in pain as the force of the hit knocked it downwards, closer to the hellish heat of the mass of magma below. The dark vines crawling across Polaris screamed ferociously as they disintegrated. Feeling the heat of the sea of liquid fire, Sonic became increasingly thankful for the power the Emeralds blessed him with. He could see the magma creeping across the beast, and he could feel the intense heat.

Finally, with one last blast of energy, Polaris sunk into the fire like a rock; screaming and roaring as it descended. Sonic floated upwards, hovering above the mass of fire in reflection of the events of everything that had happened in the last four hours.

"Finally," he murmured. "It's over."

However, not even a second passed when suddenly he heard that same deafening roar. Sonic shot his eyes downwards, finding the gigantic beast beginning to rise out of the magma. It's body smoked as the molten rock poured off Polaris like water. It seemed to develop a secondary shell of skin through the solidified lava, and as it rose out of the sea of flame, Sonic noticed the wings begin to bulge, until finally they grew, allowing the beast more mass to propel it upwards. Sonic shot upwards a split second before a clawed hand closed on him, and continued up through the dense clouds of acid, as Polaris once again pursued him.

"You just don't quit, do you?" Sonic sighed. "If lava isn't enough to burn you up, then I'll just have to take you to the next hottest thing around!"

A cocoon of light hugged Sonic as he launched at even greater speeds towards the burning mass of gas ahead of him. Already he could feel its intense heat, and he was only leaving the gravitational pull of Venus. Stars and light flashed past him like glistening streaks of white, and behind him he could feel Polaris close behind him; the heat of the magma still pulsing behind him. Then, like an explosion, the Sun came into view, growing bigger and bigger. He felt the heat hit him like never before. Mercury streaked by like a pebble, and finally he was getting into the gravitational pull of the Sun.

Polaris screamed in anger, firing off a blast of energy which only became swallowed up by the solar flares around them. Slowly the black vines on the beast peeled off like dead skin, burning up in the fiery atmosphere of the star. Sonic grunted, putting up the Chaos barrier from before to shield him from the intense energy of the sun. The golden warrior then quickly stopped, spun around and shot off towards Polaris at a faster speed than he had ever reached. He figured he'd need all the speed he could get to escape the pull of the Sun.

The gigantic maw of Polaris came into view of Sonic, as he quickly swerved around the beast. It's powerful wings struggled to redirect its weight amidst the gravitational pull, but began to burn up from the pressure and heat, leaving Polaris to become sucked closer to the vicious flame of the star. It roared and screamed out, whilst unleashing blasts of energy which only dissolved from the pressure around them.

"Lights out, bud," Sonic exclaimed, and spun around to face the beast.

It's body had already begun to burn up, but Sonic knew he had to finish this now. The golden hero gathered up an unfathomable amount of chaos energy in his hand, holding his wrist with his other hand to steady himself. Crackles of golden electricity danced around his body, as spiralling flares of light wrapped around his arm. Sonic grunted, and with a flash of light around his body, a devastating blast the size of a football shot free from Sonic's palm, closing in on Polaris faster than Sonic could keep track of.

Finally the attack hit, creating an explosion the size of a small city, effectively knocking Polaris into the heat of the Sun. He heard the screams of the vines, and the roar of Polaris finally fade out of existence, leaving Sonic in the quiet of space. He heard the rippling explosions of Polaris being burnt up, and then nothing.

Though the last thing standing in the way of peace was gone, Sonic couldn't help but feel like there was something else out there. He sighed and shook the feeling off, using the last of his power to warp through space and time back home to the Mystic Ruins.

**Location: Tails Workshop, Mystic Ruins**

Amy sighed heavily, her hammer held at her side weakly. Though she knew Eggman's pawns were resilient, she never knew they'd just keep on coming. She yelled out a battle cry and swung her mallet, severing three heads from the shoulders of the oncoming mechs. She panted, ready to level out the rest of fleet, but suddenly she felt like the entire world suddenly shut down. The mechs all stopped, and fell over lifeless. Everything became absolutely quiet, save for the screaming thrusters of the Typhoon.

"Tails, what're you doing!" Knuckles hollered, grabbing hold of his seat. "Are you trying to kill us?"

"I told you, Knuckles, the navigation systems are down!" Tails retorted, trying his best to level out the jet. "Polaris must have knocked out the satellite that I use for my GPS systems! The guidance and landing systems are all fried!"

"Well you better fix it quick, 'cause the water fall is coming in fast!" Mighty screamed.

A trail of smoke followed the Typhoon as it bounced across the fields of the ruins, and into the small lake. Water jumped up from the impact, as the water fall continued to pour down on the wreckage of the space craft. Amy gasped and quickly dropped her hammer, allowing it to disappear into a mass of sparkles. She ran towards the cliff's edge and quickly slid down it, both excitement and worry filling her actions.

"Sonic! Tails! Knuckles! Mighty!" she called out desperately, stopping on the shore of the lake.

Suddenly the entry hatch of the Typhoon shot open, causing the mass of metal to bounce across the water smash into the walls of the small quarry the lake inhabited. Amy turned her attention to the figures stumbling through the smoke, and then jumped into the water to help them. She waded through the waves, assisting Tails as he stumbled out of the wreckage, coughing. Behind him, Knuckles and Mighty made their way through.

Amy's heart suddenly sunk.

"Where's Sonic...?" she questioned.

"He's alright, Amy," Tails reassured with a weak smile. "He's up there taking care of things!" Tails pointed to the sky, where they noticed Polaris' figure leave the atmosphere of Earth, chasing a golden spec.

"C'mon, we have to get out of here. The Typhoon could explode at any minute," Mighty explained, urging everyone to get going.

The group quickly made their way up the stair case, and out into the opening. Tails sighed, feeling a sense of relief.

"It's nice to be home," he stated, turning to his workshop. "Thanks for protecting the place, Amy!"

"I never expected Eggman's troops to come out here," Mighty stated.

"Probably trying to get the Master Emerald," Knuckles huffed. "You really showed 'em whose boss, Amy."

Amy grinned and winked at her allies. "I had to help while you guys were up there!"

The group slowly made their way through the scrapped robots, and up to the workshop. Tails surveyed everything making sure that all of the high tech equipment around his humble abode weren't damaged, and then made his way inside, where he met Rouge. She rubbed her eyes weakly and made her way to the group, her worried eyes searching them for answers.

"Where's Shadow?"

"Don't worry about him." Tails nodded, "He's somewhere around Station Square. Sonic said he felt his energy in one of Eggman's emergency shuttles."

Rouge sighed heavily, taking a seat on the couch. Knuckles and Mighty slowly made their way through, as everyone took a spot on the couches and chairs. Tails tinkered with the TV momentarily, with a confused expression.

"Strange, the power must be out," he concluded. "But my water wheel is moving fine."

"Well before you guys crashed, the rest of Eggman's robots just stopped and fell over. It might have something to do with whatever that thing in space was," Amy explained. "What happened up there, anyways?"

"Well, Eggman was up to some crazy things up there." Tails sighed, "Sonic would be able to explain it a lot better than any of us."

**Location: Above Earth**

Sonic floated throughout the desolate area, where the Death Egg IV once stood. He sighed heavily and moved throughout the area, memories of all the battles he had ever fought with the old scientist flashing through his head. It had been a long and hard rivalry, and despite all the times the Doctor cursed and damned his name, Sonic had come to find the Doctor as a friend – maybe closer than anyone around him. They had shared battles, and even helped each other out in times of need.

He was sad to see the Doctor go.

"Goodbye, Doctor Ivo Robotnik," Sonic whispered in the darkness of space. "Rest in peace, you could have done so much more for the planet if you had turned your life around. I'm sad to see you go."

Golden light filled the area only briefly, as Sonic disappeared.

**Location: Unknown**

Sparks crackled occasionally through the inky darkness, allowing no sight whatsoever. Small clanks echoed in the shadows ever so often, as buzzing came from something glowing in the distance. A figure stumbled through the dark, making their way towards the screen mounted on the far wall. Suddenly it flashed on, replaying a message. The backdrop started out as Eggman's insignia, but finally showed the Doctor's face.

"If you're watching this, the first phase of my plan has been successful," he stated with a wicked smirk. "Though my physical body no longer exists among you, Project Dusk confides within ... the ..."

The recording fizzled through static briefly. "Now that I'm dead, my goals and ideology are yours to carry out. I worked to create Eggmanland; the ideal place for a utopia of which everyone could live peacefully and equally. Though Sonic may have undoubtedly snuffed out the Death Egg, you will find all my schematics, plans and blueprints aboard the ARK. The vessels, Phase 1 of the team I've code named "Dusk" exist within the same shuttle you are aboard now. I only wish that I could have seen you, my greatest creation learn and grow. Essentially you are my son, and you will be the next, and final, piece of my plan."

Violet eyes watched with curiosity, darting across the containment pods lining the walls only briefly.

"As everything unfolds, you will learn more and find more about my plans for you. Take the vessels to the ARK, and start where I left off, my son. Exterminate that blue pest, and lead the world to an era of peace!"

Then the recording ceased, playing only a static against Eggmans insignia. The being watched the screen dully, his breathing calm. Where was he? What had happened? Only time would tell, and by the sounds of things, he would be a king unlike any other. But how exactly would he rule such a vast kingdom? He figured it would be best to find things out as they came to him. But for now, his destination was this place, his _father _had called the "ARK". Where it was, he didn't know, but he was sure his father would paint the trail nice and bright.

He smiled, the first of his living actions. And the first of his mortal emotions filled his head; delight.

**Location: Tails Workshop**

Light shot outwards from Sonic as he appeared from thin air. Dust spun around him briefly before his super form reverted, and the Chaos Emeralds hovered around him gently. He sighed weakly, wiping the grime from his face with his glove. It was going to be great to finally relax and wash up. But of course, after they found Shadow. The door to the workshop suddenly swung open, and from it he saw Amy run towards him. Before he knew it she had effectively jumped towards him, pulling him into a tight embrace.

He felt tears begin to drip into his fur as she buried her head into his chest. Sonic smiled warmly and stroked her back comfortingly, and waved to his comrades as they surrounded him.

"Don't worry, Rouge," Sonic assured. "We'll find Shadow, he can't be far."

"I know, big blue," she winked. "You did good up there. Until the GUN surveillance satellite got destroyed, the whole world was cheering you on."

"Maybe that's why I felt so strong!" Sonic joked, as Amy finally let go and sniffled.

"It's gonna be a tough road to recovery," Mighty sighed in a lazy tone. "Eggman destroyed so much with his invasion."

"Just as long as we have each other, there isn't anything we can't do," Sonic stated. "Besides, if it weren't for you three, I wouldn't have made it as far as I did up there!"

"So what now?" Knuckles questioned with a smirk.

"Now, we let everything get back to normal."

"_We all have the power to destroy; but the power to protect and heal is a rarity." Gerard Schlemko, Project Shadow Scientist, 1949_

**Violet Dreams, Part 1**

**Fin**

**Authors Note~ **And even though this marks the end of the first part of the story, it's only the beginning. The prelude to what's to come! Stay tuned for the first chapter of Violet Dreams, Part II. The story will be renamed to Violet Dreams, Part II and the summary will be updated to describe the story as a whole! I can't wait to start everything off after this close! Hope you enjoyed the Egg Apocalypse Saga! Leave your comments, tips and theories in a review!


	24. Chapter 24: Du Fehlst Mir

**We've concluded the prelude to the series, and now we've entered the main conflict. I hope you're all ready! Things will be much more explained than before, such as Polaris, the Twilight Keys and the lore built up in the Introductory chapter. We'll see a lot of familiar faces, and some new ones as well! Enjoy!**

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 24: Du Fehlst Mir**

"_Words build bridges into unexplored regions."_

**December 31st, 2015**

**Location: Station Square**

Foot prints left in the snow trailed behind a walking figure. Puffs of ice continued to fall gently from the sky, coming from the thick clouds which covered the sun. Everything was bright, however. Whatever light that did pierce the veil of clouds reflected off the sheet of snow covering the still recovering city. Though significantly repaired, there were still things destroyed and sections of the city left barren since Eggman's chaotic invasion across the planet. Heavy machinery stood idle in various work sites across the blooming city, the holiday spirit still looming around the city. It had been such a long time since his death, that it seemed nobody could remember the Doctor anymore. Though his plans always devastating to the environment around him, he was soon forgotten.

It had been six years since hundreds of thousands of lives were lost.

It had been six years since the world had been crippled and faced extinction.

Stopping in front of the harbor, the figure turned towards the sea. Their cloak kept snug around their body to protect them from the brisk winter air. They sighed gently, watching the sun descend past the horizon. The ocean lapped against the stone walls, ships and docks, creating a calming pattern of moving water. Eying the cold water below, the figure continued through the city, and to the outskirts of the place everyone worked so hard to protect.

It was the last day of the fifth year since the collapse of planet Earth, and fourth year of recovery.

Everyone would be celebrating today, not only for the longest state of peace the planet has ever seen, but for the coming New Year.

The figure continued their way through the city, passing by the rare civilian carrying bags of supplies for their end of the year party. Green eyes noticed remarkable decorations across the center of the city, which was first restored. With the restoration of Earth, came an alarming growth in technology thanks to the boy known as Miles "Tails" Prower – one of the most advanced minds on the planet, even though he was only fifteen. Tails, the younger adoptive brother of the world hero, Sonic, had made astonishing leaps in technology over the last couple years. He had successfully set up the first city-wide AI system, which had been used for navigation, tourist aid and many other uses.

Sonic smiled to himself, proud of his younger brother for the many accomplishments he had achieved. Though he felt a pang of guilt almost immediately after. He had put his best friend through so much in such a short time, and even now he continued to do so. He remembered how hard Tails had took his departure five months ago. Urging to travel, explore and be free, Sonic needed to leave again. However, it seemed as though Tails had been better off. With Sonic no longer around to focus on, he devoted his time to inventing and creating.

The blue wonder made his way through the crowds of people all gathered at city center. A live band had been set up twenty minutes ago, and were currently putting on a concert. The instruments and vocals of the band drifted through Sonic's mind like the fuzz of a TV without a signal. People staggered out of his way absentmindedly, entranced with the talent of the group on stage.

In the distance, sitting around a small wooden table, Sonic noticed a couple of the people he had grown close to over his lifetime. Amy, Tails, Vanilla, Cream and Cheese, Rouge and Mighty.

He'd find the time to see them again, but not yet. After being gone for so long, it was strange to be here after all. Giving one last glance towards the group, he continued through a back alley, and made his way towards a steel stairwell leading up to the roof top of a cafe. Climbing diligently and quickly, Sonic made it the top and walked to the edge, where he sat down and listened to the music hum through the air. In all honesty, he had grown bored. Without Eggman around, there was nothing to do.

Was he the only one who remembered the Doctor nowadays?

**Location: Antoni Pedrera Museum, Spagonia – 3:39 am**

Casting a small, dull light, a TV roughly the size of a basketball flashed colors against three faces. Its bent antenna taped up against one of many marble columns within the lobby of the museum. The windows along the ceiling of the extravagant cathedral styled building let in only the smallest amount of light given by the stars and moon. Gathered around the information kiosk, and the TV, Team Chaotix let out a sigh all together.

"I bet everyone else back home is having a blast celebrating," Vector moaned, his stomach grumbling. "Here we are stuck guardin' a gem for a chump paranoid about burglars!"

"Vectoooorr!" Charmy whined, fluttering gently above the ground. "I'm bored, when can we go party with everyone else! I wanna go have some cake!"

"The party will be over by the time we get home, bud," Vector sighed, watching the President give his speech.

Espio gave a dull glance towards his team mates, preparing and making sure all his equipment was ready for anything. Though his friends may goof around and slack off, he saw himself as the leader of the team at times – he was the only one with any sense of organization, after all. Crickets chirped in the quiet, humid air outside, keeping them company and ensuring the trio they weren't the only ones alone on such an important night.

"What time is it?" Charmy asked, yawning loudly and floating down onto the ground tiredly. "I don't wanna stay up anymore!"

"If the dude who hired us sees us sleeping on the job we won't get paid," Vector scolded, yawning himself. "We're already late on two months rent," he finished with a heavy sigh.

The muffled sound of shattering glass suddenly caught the young bee's attention, causing him to hover upwards quickly. His eyes darted every which way suspiciously. Fluttering over towards the entrance to an exhibit, Charmy peered down through the darkness of the many different artifacts and showcases. Everything was quiet again, but he didn't feel right with it. The young bee fluttered over to his tired team mates quickly.

"Guys, guys, guys, guys!" he hollered. "I think someone just broke into the museum!"

Vector groaned, rolling his eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, Charmy!" he snorted. "The alarms would have went off if anyone came in but us!"

"The power line was cut," Espio informed, noticing anything electronic had been shut down.

"I'll just prove to ya' no one's in here, then!" Vector mumbled, stomping out into the foyer.

Charmy hovered nervously behind Vector's broad shoulders, while Espio walked silently behind them both, scanning the cases as they walked down the first exhibit. Sure enough, it had to be ancient Egyptian. The ghoul like faces of the mummies and ancient pharaohs stared at Charmy, sending chills down his spine. The trip through the exhibit lasted only a short minute, and they were onto the next section.

Sure enough, shattered glass sprinkled the floor, reflecting the light from the sky above. The three detectives glanced upwards, trying to figure out what had come through the ceiling windows.

"Maybe it was a bird, or something," Vector stammered nervously.

"Y-yeah," Charmy agreed. "A bird, or, s-somethin'."

Another crash of glass echoed throughout the museum, and this time every single light in the building flashed on, followed by the alarm systems. The trio each gave one another a look of nervousness and confidence, then ran towards the source of the noise. The spinning, flashing red warning lights began to streak into brief flashes as they moved into the marine themed exhibit, which had been stripped of any power, thus keeping it dark. However as they reached the entrance, Vector noticed three figures running along the hallway, and quickly blew out a flurry of exploding bubbles.

The sticky, explosive masses of gum bounced off of large, replicated whales. Fire and smoke rose up from each explosion, causing the articles to fall off of their only suspension and clatter to the floor. The mysterious trio ahead quickly jumped out of the way of three gobs of explosive gum, each disappearing as if they were ghosts. As the explosion died down across from the Chaotix, a laugh caught their attention behind them, and they spun around to find the trio standing at the entrance.

"You guys are slooow," the first figure, whom was shorter than other two laughed. It was without a doubt a girl. "Be sweethearts and tell us where the Chaos Emerald is?"

**Location: Empire City – 11:39 pm**

Crowds of people surged and bumped together, desperate to get a better look at the gigantic stage set up in the city center. Like everywhere else all around the world, Empire City had put on a massive celebration to commemorate five years of uninterrupted peace. Four video screens hung from the steel rafters of the stage, two on each side of the center podium. Gigantic banners with Sonic's face hung from the top of the stage, with blue, red and white spot lights dancing across the crowd and stage. Music consisting of trumpets, drum rolls and catchy guitar riffs blared from the high tech speakers, as a single man made his way onto the stage.

Watching quietly from the adjacent rooftop, Shadow the hedgehog zoomed in with the high powered sniper rifle he had been equipped with. A black GUN winter jacket clung to his form, as he moved the dials on the scope through thick gloves. He could see his breath rise upwards with each exhale. His heart pounded gently against his chest, keeping slow and steady beats. Crackles echoed from the microphone as the president cleared his throat, the music suddenly dying down and the spot lights coming to a rest on top of him.

Shadow watched on, calmly and intently.

"It's been five years of unity, strength and perseverance for us as a nation," he began. "We've endured one of the most crushing and devastating invasions since the Black Arms nearly twelve years ago. We've rebuilt our precious country back up to it's former glory – if not more so. We have progressed passed the limitations placed upon us in 2010, and have grown to something unseen by previous generations. Our safety is all thanks to the brilliant, and brave troops who make up the Guardian Units of Nations, or otherwise, GUN. With the death of Abraham Towers, former GUN Supreme Commander, in 2008, I'm proud to say, his successor Shrike Errgon has done a marvelous job of leading our brothers in arms."

A roar of applauds and cheers howled through the city. With a sigh of annoyance, Shadow scanned the upper most levels of the towering buildings surrounding the stage. Ever since his reunion with Sonic and his friends, Shadow had been performing gopher duty for Shrike, helping with the growth and reconstruction of countless cities across the eastern seaboard. Moving the scope down once more to have the President in the cross hairs, the cheering died out.

"However, they are to thank for the safety of our planet during one of the most spectacular acts of heroism we've seen to date. Our beloved hero, Sonic the Hedgehog, fought valiantly against the nefarious Doctor Ivo Robotnik in space. Sonic destroyed both the dooms day weapon Ivo had constructed, and the beast which that madman undoubtedly released! Though we'd like to pay our respects to our world hero in person, Sonic cannot be here with us today. We can only assume he's somewhere near, keeping an eye on the nation whom so dearly loves him."

Another roaring cheer came from the audience – which Shadow had to guess exceeded over five thousand people.

**Meanwhile...**

**Location: Station Square – 11:39 pm**

"Wow, Tails!" Cream swooned. "You really built that?"

On the table, standing amidst their food, a small creature formed of what seemed to be white liquid stood. Currently it had taken on the form of Cheese, its golden eyes blinking back at the confused Chao occasionally. Tails tapped a button on his watch, shutting down the creations power, causing it to retreat back to a lifeless orb of white goo.

"I sure did," Tails nodded, his voice now noticeably deeper, though still scratchy due to puberty. "I call it the Liquid Intelligence Neutron Companion; or L.I.N.C for short."

"What's it used for, Miles?" Vanilla asked politely.

"Originally I constructed it to be used as a robot of sorts," Tails explained, the blob of liquid disappearing into his backpack. "To do tasks and such that we can't do ourselves, you know?"

"Seems like you've been quite the help to GUN lately, little man," Rouge winked, taking a drink of her wine.

"It's starting!" Cream called excitedly.

Suddenly the crowd fell silent, as the many screens lined along the upper walls of the surrounding buildings flashed to life. First going through static, and then bearing the United Federations crest. Another wave of static filled the monitors, and finally they turned to show the President. Powerful spot lights rested on him, lighting up the massive stage set up in Empire City, where the main festival was being held.

"I heard six thousand people were attending it there!" Mighty whispered in glee to Amy, whom replied with a gentle nod.

Her gentle green eyes watched the screen hollowly. Ever since Sonic left she went back to feeling alone, unsafe and ultimately sad. She didn't like it when he left like that, and even though there was nothing left to threaten the world, she felt much safer with him around. It was as if her entire sense of security disappeared when he left to travel the planet. A strong gust suddenly caught her attention on the roof top, and if it wasn't just her mind playing tricks, she could have sworn she saw someone...

"I miss you," she whispered.

"...Sonic destroyed both the dooms day weapon Ivo had constructed, and the beast which that madman undoubtedly released! Though we'd like to pay our respects to our world hero in person, Sonic cannot be here with us today. We can only assume he's somewhere near, keeping an eye on the nation whom so dearly loves him."

Then the screen flashed to static again, earning a roaring boo from the crowd. However, just as quickly as the static came, it was replaced by the one thing the entire planet had hoped to never see again in their lives. Orange, yellow and red filled the screen briefly, before being replaced by a golden Eggman insignia against a black back drop. Then it flashed, and there he was...

"Greetings, you filthy race," the old, crazy scientist bellowed. "If by any chance you're watching this little recording I've set up for you, then my plans have been successful. I've anticipated the destruction of my space vessel, as well as my death. Listen up you putrid hedgehog, if you can hear me right now, you had better be ready. Though I may be dead, this war is far from over!"

People gasped, a tension unlike any other filling the air. A gust of wind occasionally sweeping through the city center.

"You're world has become mine. It took little time, and not much skill," he cackled with a wicked grin. "I know you must be off traveling once again, and I anticipate your return, for which I am prepared! It's not a matter of _when _because I know you are not afraid! Moreover, it's a matter of how you will respond. I've grown bored, old _friend_," he concluded calmly, a devious smirk playing his lips.

"_Great liars, are also great magicians." Adolf Hitler, Fuhrer of Germany, 1934-1945_

**To be Continued**

**Authors Note~ **Some fun facts about the chapter title; it means "I Miss You" in german – and it's the chapter title for one reason alone! Thumbs up if you know what it is. I hope I haven't disappointed any of you with this chapter! Eggman just doesn't go away, does he? Hehe ;] Leave your comments, theories and tips in a review! Hope you enjoyed!


	25. Chapter 25: Annihilation, Part 1

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 25: Annihilation, Pt 1**

"_To believe in the heroic makes heroes."_

**Location: Empire City – 12:01 am**

The monitors lining the stage fizzled in and out of static, the Doctor's message having ended only a minute ago. Everyone watched in silence, pondering the old mans words. The President stood quietly on the stage, completely in shock from the video which had played. What did the Doctor mean by all of this? Suddenly a spotlight flashed on against the building to the left of the stage, as alarms began to sound.

Heart pounding, Shadow snapped his sights over to the spot the light illuminated. There he found a large figure jumping away from the balcony, towards the President. Squeezing the trigger multiple times through swift reloads, Shadow fired off a precise line of shots towards the large figure. However, much to Shadow's dismay, the shells simply bounced off the exterior of the figure once tearing through their cloak. The dark hedgehog grit his teeth and dropped the rifle, teleporting from the rooftop and down to the stage.

A flash of light wrapped around the President a split second before the gigantic attacker collided with him. Two crushing punches cracked into the figure's face and chest, throwing him across the ground. The wood bent from the figure's weight, as he slid across the stage and into the pavement below.

"Quick, Mr President," Shadow barked. "You're not safe here!"

By now the crowd had begun to scream in panic, fleeting the area like wildfire. A heavy grunt from the figure on the ground, and he was back on his feet. After hurriedly moving the President off the stage, Shadow turned back towards the figure charging towards him once more. He grunted in pain as a rock solid fist collided with him – it was almost the size of his own head!

Shadow bounced across the stage, and into the park, colliding with a wooden bench, shattering it. The dark hedgehog groaned, noticing the figure disappear through a purple portal. Using the debris around him, Shadow kicked up a sharp, splintered board towards the reappearing figure, buying him time to jump back to his feet just a moment before the larger male threw another heavy punch at him. Through grit teeth, Shadow grunted, taking the blow and slid backwards, only to warp away and behind the figure. A fizzling mass of light exploded from the Ultimate Life forms hand, erupting into a sharp arrow which pierced the figure ahead of him through the arm.

"You're making me mad!" the figure howled, twirling around and smashing both his fists down upon Shadow.

Columns of rock jutted upwards from the collision, creating a small crater below the hedgehog. Smirking with victory, the figure moved away from the defeated hedgehog, and began to barrel towards the retreating presidential fleet. SUV's slid between crowds, creating a path for the Presidential car. However, flashes of purple filled any exit to the city center, releasing swarms of unusual looking creatures, and another cloaked figure.

People screamed, suddenly retreating from the exits and back towards the grassy center of the festival area. The vehicles of the Presidential fleet suddenly slid to a stop, the creatures who had charged towards them flipping over the head SUV with their great numbers. Cracks darted outwards from the impact of one of the creatures against the car of which the President was in. His terrified eyes scanned over the twitching creature, just as a loud gunshot sounded, creating a hole in the beasts head.

Suddenly it exploded into a storm of glistening orbs of light, and the President quickly ducked down as a troop of several of the beasts surrounded the vehicle. More gunshots sounded, a thicker veil of the small specs of light appearing from each creature as they disappeared.

"Quick," one man shouted. "Protect the President at all costs!"

Rock spires suddenly exploded upwards beneath the President's car, knocking it up into the air, along with a few of the body guards. The car tumbled through the sky, knocking the President around within like a rag-doll. The vehicle smashed back against the ground, flattening the roof slightly from the impact. The large figure who had assaulted Shadow before smashed through the rock pillars, creating a storm of particles of which gathered around his body. A thick shell of rock coated his entire body, guarding him from the glass that exploded from his body colliding with the vehicle.

Yelping, the President tumbled out of the car, rolling amidst the chaotic outside. His terrified eyes turned back to his car, watching it become ripped into two pieces from the pursuing figure running straight through it with the help of several jagged sword-like rock columns. Glass spewed across the streets, as smoke and flame shot away from the wreckage. The President cringed in fear, clenching his eyes shut, waiting for a swift death.

"Shit!"

Two heavy _thuds, _and the figure's dash was redirected backwards. The bumbling figure stumbled backwards, the dark hedgehog swiftly delivering Chaos infused punches into the larger male's torso. Flickers of light from the release of energy fluttered away from each hit, until finally Shadow reeled his arm back, creating a Chaos Lance. The bolt of light launched from his palm, and collided with the larger being with such force it sent him bouncing across the pavement, and into the clock tower bordering the park.

Quickly ducking down to avoid a deathly punch from the much smaller figure coming up behind him, Shadow noticed the white cloak flapping around her being. She grunted, throwing several more punches, only one of which striking Shadow. However, the power from the blow knocked him upwards into the sky, allowing the tiny attacker the chance to jump up and kick Shadow away into a building.

The dark hedgehog slid downwards onto the balcony, and though he would've liked to rest, he was forced to jump from his foothold as gigantic boulders shot towards him. Flipping over the railings just in time to avoid the destruction of the balcony, Shadow warped away and in front of the larger figure from before, finding that he had recovered.

Winding up for a brutal punch, Shadow growled and threw his fist forward. His knuckles smashed against the bears jaw, causing a sickening _crunch _to echo throughout the chaos. The bear tumbled backwards, sliding into the burning wreckage of the car the President had been in. Using his supernatural reflexes, Shadow spun around to duck under a powerful punch from the smaller female attacker. Her fist collided with a rising spire of rock from her recovering partner, shattering it into dust.

With movements like lightning, Shadow snatched the girls fist mid punch, and snapped his arm out to grapple the larger attacker by the throat. The swarming beasts that had come with the two figures suddenly ceased, watching their leaders become immobilized.

Crimson energy flickered upwards from Shadow's body, collecting in both of his hands. "Who are you two?" he snarled. "Or I'll kill you both!"

Groaning in pain, the female attempted to move her arm. However, Shadow quickly twisted it backwards, throwing her to her knees.

"And don't think I won't do it."

Clawing and sputtering, the larger figure's hood finally fell, revealing him to be a bear with green fur. The fur on his head was messy, and covered his eyes perfectly. "We only want the Chaos Emerald that's in the town hall!"

"Shut up, Gaia!" the younger, more ferocious figure barked through grit teeth. "He told us not to give away our goal! Shut your fucking mouth!"

Averting his eyes towards the more harsh attacker, Shadow unleashed a harmless shockwave from his hand, knocking the bear away into the nearby clock tower. He then spun the girl's arm around, pinning her up against a fragile column of rock still standing from the bear he had immobilized. His piercing crimson gaze dug into her eyes, a calm expression remaining on his face.

"Who are you two," he quietly asked. "And who are you working for?"

Scoffing, the girl spat from within the darkness of her hood. The wad of saliva landing on the hedgehog's chest. Eying the gooey liquid, Shadow moved his forearm from the girls collar, up into her throat. Her feet lifted from the ground, as she coughed, struggling to breathe.

"Knowing...who..we are, won't change anything!" She struggled amidst coughs.

"Who are you, and what do you want with the Chaos Emeralds?"

Suddenly two slabs of rock launched up beside Shadow, causing him to move away from the girl in surprise. The rock suddenly spread outwards into a box like formation, closing tightly around his body. The dark hedgehog grunted, and attempted to blow the formation to bits, only to have his attack fizzle out. His vicious gaze shot back over to the nervous looking bear.

"Athana, he said we shouldn't kill anyone," Gaia murmured. "Won't he get mad if he finds out we disobeyed him?"

"It's just one soldier!" Athana barked back, rubbing her throat. "Besides, he has plans to get rid of the military, anyway."

Walking up beside his partner, Gaia shot a weary glance towards their captive, watching as ribbons of violet energy rippled from his quills. Slowly diamond began to creep upwards from the cement, layering the rock formation. Athana quickly jumped through a portal, leading to the section of Townhall where the emerald was kept.

"I'm really sorry, sir," Gaia stammered. "We never meant any harm!"

With increasingly larger waves of energy beginning to emerge from Shadow, the dark hedgehog unleashed a powerful burst of energy. The blast vaporized the rock and gem surrounding his body, and shot Gaia across the park. The large bear tumbled through trees before finally stopping with a bone rattling smash against the Town Hall. The marble pillars lining the entry way crumbled, bringing the large piece of the roof overhanging the steps down on the bear. Shadow rotated his arm, stretching himself, and turned his attention to the spiraling vortex like warp hole.

Leaping through, Shadow found his eye sight spin quickly, as his surroundings spun away, and replaced themselves with that of the Town Hall. Shaking his head to dismiss the disorientation, Shadow glanced forwards, finding the girl from before run around the corner. With the powerful jets of his shoes activated, Shadow dashed through the hallways at high speed, tailing the thief closely. He slid around the corner, finding her leap up on the information kiosk, and towards the second level. However, Shadow quickly generated a condensed Chaos Spear, teleporting the destructive attack from his fist and directly in front of the criminal.

A helix of energy shot outwards from the point of impact, as the girl grunted in surprise and pain. A streak of white shot downwards behind the girl, as she bounced across the marble flooring, and through the bulletin boards. Rock and cement chipped away and fell to the ground from the attack, creating a hole in the thick stair case.

"I've dealt with more obnoxious criminals than the likes of you," Shadow remarked, bearing his teeth. He stomped over to the young girl, as she struggled to stand. He quickly snatched her up, holding her in the air by the throat. "You're merely a pest at this point!"

"You're really fucking stubborn," she sneered.

"Likewise," Shadow remarked. "Now what do you want with the Emerald?"

"We..were ordered to retrieve the Emeralds, and the Master Emerald," she finally admitted. "We weren't told why, though. Something about a plan of _holy recreation_, I don't know what the hell they were talking about!"

"Whose they?"

"The higher ups," she coughed, struggling against his hold.

Suddenly the wall of the entrance blew inwards from a gigantic boulder, forcing Shadow to jump away. However this time he kept hold of his hostage. Landing on the second level railing, Shadow watched as the bear from before stomped in, his body covered in a gleaming emerald armor. Shadow quirked a brow at the armor, intrigued by it.

"Gaia!" the young girl howled. "Get the Emerald and retreat! I can take care of this bastard!"

A fist smashed against Shadow's jaw, causing him to release his hold of the girl and stumble backwards off of his foothold. He staggered backwards on the marble flooring, but quickly regaining composure and returned his attention to the young girl, who had spun around to face him with green glowing fists. Noticing the bear charge down the hallway, The black hedgehog shot the same attack he had used on the female attacker, taking out the arching rooftop Marble and cement crashed to the ground in front of Gaia, causing him to slide to a stop to avoid the avalanche of debris.

Shifting his gaze back to Athana, the dark hedgehog quickly unleashed a wave of Chaos energy, knocking the unsuspecting attacker into the air. Shadow quickly bounded upwards, and off of the railing. He launched through the air after his attacker, charging up a powerful Chaos Spear at the same time. The dark hedgehog quickly launched the attack through a rising rock column.

Shards of rock shot every which way, as Shadow darted through the debris and smashed the female attacker through the upper most window of the hall. Shadow quickly warped away from the cloaked female, as he reappeared in front of the armored bear, who had made his way through the blockade of rock, and retrieved the Emerald.

"Sorry," Gaia murmured with a nervous look, and bounded through a spiraling warp hole.

**Location: Angel Island**

Humming quietly, Knuckles, the guardian of the Master Emerald, swayed his toe. Crickets chirped gently from the forest, as the occasional frog croaked. His peaceful island was the only place he could feel calm. With the gentle glow of the moon and the godly gem, Knuckles shut his eyes, sighing in content. With Eggman out of the picture, it gave him the time to relax and focus on his duty like never before. No more distractions, and no more diabolical schemes to destroy the world with his Emerald.

Some would call him introverted, antisocial and even a hermit. But he didn't care. Just as long as he was carrying through with the duty left to him by his ancestors. Though he wondered what it'd be like to travel the world on a whim, like Sonic seemed to do so casually. Then again, he wasn't really the traveling type. More so, he'd like to explore new places, indulge in their culture and treasures. But that was all petty dreaming at this point.

Opening a single eye, the scarlet echidna glanced upwards at a mosquito as it landed on the glowing green Emerald. The guardian smiled, and closed his eyes again, swatting the critter, successfully killing it.

"What a peaceful night." Knuckles sighed.

"Agreed," a voice responded, much to the echidna's surprise.

Violet eyes shot towards a figure leaning against a lopsided tree. Though remote, Angel Island received the snow like the rest of the country, creating small drifts of the white crystal on the tree tops. Knuckles bounded to his feet, knocking his basket of fruit down the shrine steps. A stray orange from the bunch rolled over to the figure, and stopped against their shoe. The mysterious figure sighed gently, pulling the white hood from his head, and bending over to pick up the fruit.

The hood fell back, revealing a face framed by messy hair and two long locks of hair. He had brilliant yellow fur, along with black lightning shaped patterns moving along his neck like tattoos. He was of the lion family, Knuckles noticed. Staring at Knuckles with striking turquoise eyes, the lion pulled the peel off of the orange swiftly, pulling apart wedges of the fruit. The mysterious feline walked up the shrine stairs towards the offense ready echidna, eating the fruit casually.

"Though a bit cold for my liking," he sighed, and yawned afterwords. "Must get redundant; waking up day after day just to stare at the same surroundings."

"It's my job," Knuckles retorted casually.

"Must be," the figure replied, finishing the citrus fruit, and stopping on the step below Knuckles. "Must be irritably boring."

"I get by," the echidna responded, growing more suspicious.

Lazy, turquoise orbs stared upwards at the Guardian. His yellow tail swayed gently from under the white cloak he was wearing as he stretched his arms above his head. The lion let out a long yawn, and then licked his lips of the citrus juice left behind from his snack. Then, without warning the lion quickly delivered a swift, yet powerful, punch at Knuckles. The echidna's eyes seemed to bulge from the blow, as he shot upwards, and against the rock pillars surrounding the shrine. Dust and snow puffed outwards from the impact, as Knuckles slammed back against the ground, only for the lion to grab the Guardian, and throw him down the steps.

"As much as I enjoyed our talk," he sighed. "I have to leave, and since I came for this gem of yours, it has to come with me."

"_A hero is defined as a mortal of distinguished courage or ability. One who is admired for his valiant deeds and noble qualities." ~ Shrike Errgon, GUN Commanding General, 2013_

**To Be Continued**


	26. Chapter 26: Annihilation, Part 2

**Violet Dreams **

**Part II**

**Chapter 26: Annihilation, Pt 2**

"_One murder makes a villain; millions makes a hero."_

**Location: Station Square**

People screamed, fleeing the scene. Fire and smoke shot up into the air from the continuous strikes against the buildings of which surrounded the park. The small stage set up tumbled to the ground in a blazing heap of metal, fabric and wood. The sound of screeching instruments roared through the PA system, until finally the fire engulfed that too. Embers shot up into the sky, while a thick cloud of smoke hung in the air. Violet colored portals appeared within each exit to the park, unleashing hordes of strange creatures from within.

Two more portals opened up on top of the parking garage beside Twinkle Park, allowing two figures to walk out of them and into the open. Their white cloaks flapped in the wind generated from the chaos ensuing the festival. By now, the group of heroes had taken it upon themselves to fight off the creatures. A swift orb of golden energy blasted through a crowd of the monsters. Tails moved his cannon, and spun around to another approaching horde, shooting through them too. The young fox quickly used his name sakes and flew upwards briefly, avoiding an attack by a creature from behind. He swung his cannon down, unleashing a larger sized orb of light. The attack collided with the monster, causing it to explode into a storm of light.

"What are these ugly things?" Amy cried out. "They really need a makeover or something!"

"I really was hoping for some relaxation today," Mighty complained, punching through an attacking creature. "So much for five years of peace!"

Swinging around in a semi circle, Amy smashed her hammer through several creatures. Some flew through the air, while the remaining beasts bounced across the ground, exploding into a flurry of sparkling light after colliding with something. She grunted in pain as a group of the creatures jumped onto her, attempting to break through her hammer, which was being used to fend them off. Suddenly a hot burst of energy collided with the horde, blasting them away from the pink hedgehog.

"Thanks, Tails," she sighed, getting to her feet.

Amidst the chaos, Rouge ran behind Vanilla and Cream, leading them to safety. Buildings had already begun to come down, after four long years of reconstruction. The attacking hordes of monster had smashed through windows, and began eating away at any material or food available. Kicking away a creature, Rouge swung open a door to the roof top of the Emerald Coast Resort. As the three rushed out onto the rooftop, they noticed the ever growing groups of monsters coming from the portals.

"Who are those two?" Cream pointed out, her arm aimed towards the parking garage across from them. "They look really peculiar!"

Moving her eyes towards the spot Cream was looking at, Rouge noticed the two cloaked figures. They didn't move, but simply stood there observing the havoc ensuing below. However, the deadly roars of the invading creatures broke Rouge from her thoughts, and turned her attention towards the doorway. One of the beasts jumped towards her, but a blinding sphere of blue light collided with the creature. The beast roared out and tumbled across the rooftop, only to fall back down to the ground. Cheese floated back to Creams side, the light fading from around the small pet.

"Thanks, Cream," Rouge acknowledged. "I have to get a hold of Shadow, he might know whats going on."

* * *

Flames flickered upwards from the destruction on the ground below them, while the sound of screams filled their ears. Their pawns jumped across the wreckage below, fighting against the heroes which fought back so desperately. Standing silent; watchful of everything, the shorter figure standing on the roof top sighed. Though, it wasn't of sadness, nor of disappointment, but of annoyance. He knew of the heroic Sonic the Hedgehog the world swooned over. He knew of everything that hedgehog did to protect a single planet from _destruction. _Annoyed, simply by the fact that blue hedgehog hadn't shown up. Four separate invasions. Four tasks at hand, and he hadn't shown his wretched face.

"Are you sure he's still even alive?" the second, taller, figure questioned. "It'd be a shame if he was dead. He was a good kid."

"Someone like that doesn't die," the shorter figure retorted, his voice asserting his undoubted dominance. "He killed Doctor Ivo Robotnik not too long ago, there shouldn't be anything on the planet that could have threatened his safety."

"Hmm, maybe he's sleeping or something?"

Continued onslaughts came from each side of the square, the dark beasts attacking with such ferocious intent, the heroes were pushed back to back. They were relentless, and killer. Swinging her hammer firmly, Amy smashed away a group of the monsters, only for them to be replaced by twice the amount she had gotten rid of. They were endless!

As the hordes began to grow, beyond anything the group had ever witnessed in their lives, everything became silent. The crackling fire snuffed out, the horrific growls of the beasts silenced; all replaced by the blowing wind. A tattered brown cloak fluttered through the wind, catching on the scorched branch of a nearby tree. A storm of particles swarmed around the group of heroes, clouding their view of the mysterious figure who had appeared momentarily. However, before they could catch a glimpse at their savior, he was gone.

A streak of blue trailed to the top of the parking garage, followed by a vicious sphere of rotating, cutting cobalt light. Powerful gusts of wind pressed against the park like the pressure of someone stepping on it. As the spherical attack dispersed, the winds calmed. Amy's eyes darted to the top of the structure, finding the only person she knew that represented something so free as the wind.

"Look, it's Sonic!" one man exclaimed from the crowd, which then erupted into a roar of cheers.

**Location: Antoni Pedrera Museum, Spagonia – 3:45 am**

"You guys are slooow," the first figure, whom was shorter than other two laughed. It was without a doubt a girl. "Be sweethearts and tell us where the Chaos Emerald is?"

The trio of detectives came to a stop in front of the trio of thieves, each filled with a fire of confidence. Standing ahead of them, each of the trio had a defining set of eyes. Each seemed to represent them in their own, special way. The girl who had spoken had metallic blue eyes, which gave off a look of anger. Vector could tell she wanted revenge on someone, for what he didn't know. The second, quiet figure, had a luminous, almost robotic, crimson eyes. The third figure, who possessed an air of restlessness to him had silvery eyes, as though they didn't have color at all.

"You heard the lady," the silvery eyed figure spoke up. "Where are ya' hidin' the Chaos Emerald!"

"It's none of your beeswax!" Charmy shouted valiantly. "We'll never tell a coupl'a crooks like you where the emerald is!"

"This is taking too long, Crush!" the restless figure whined. "Let me beat it outta them, and then we can get outta here!"

Without any form of agreement from his teammates, the impatient figure of the thieve trio bounded forwards. Suddenly, wind swept through the entire museum, as if picking up in accordance to the figure's actions. Performing a swirl in mid air, the figure lashed out his leg from the spin, aimed at Vector. The crocodile yelped, swinging both his muscular arms up just in time to defend himself. An invisible vortex of air danced upwards from the impact, blowing the figures cloak about around his body.

"You're just bein' stubborn!" the figure cried out with a chuckle, spinning around to snap out his leg for another swift kick.

The boot smashed against Vector's neck, a burst of condensed air adding to the force of the blow and launched the detective across the floor. By now, the remaining two Chaotix members took it upon themselves to defend their partner, only to be thwarted by the impatient attackers comrades.

A raging ball of flame lit up the dark room, hurtling towards the figure who had yet to speak. The great ball of fire grew ever closer, when suddenly figure shot out a fist, electricity sparking around the figures arm. The ball of flame exploded into a storm of embers, sparks dancing within the epicenter of the explosion. However, allowing his opponent no time to recover, Espio swiftly threw five combat knives through the chaos.

"Charmy, watch out!" Vector hollered, blocking another swift, yet powerful kick from his adversary.

The young bee yelped as the knives whizzed past his head. Letting out a sigh of relief, a burst of water suddenly smashed into him, throwing the bee hurtling against the arching doorway of the exhibit. Charmy bounced off the marble, and quickly flew around another torrent of compressed water aimed at him. A cascade of sparkling liquid splashed against the marble floor, causing Vector to slip as he moved backwards from his opponents onslaught.

Espio quickly jumped in between bursts of electrified water from the remaining two figures, his arms becoming blurs as he threw knife after knife at his opponents. A field of black light suddenly expanded around the two elemental fighters, knocking away the knives. Panting, Charmy hovered beside Espio, waiting for his orders.

"That girl is attacking from behind her partners defense," Espio explained to his partner. "If we can separate them, we can use the others lightning to stop the girl, and then we'll have the upper hand!"

"Whatcha need me to do, Espio!" Charmy questioned, almost too excitedly for the occasion.

Avoiding another condensed burst of water from behind the electrical barrier, Espio quickly pulled out a slip of paper from his glove. The burst of electrified water shot across the museum, aimed directly at the duo, causing Charmy to panic. Performing a string of lightning fast hand signs, Espio inhaled a large breath, and then exhaled to release a storming gust of wind. The tornado like gust shot through the water, causing it to explode into a mist.

"Take this explosion tag, and slap it onto the one supplying the shield on my signal," Espio instructed calmly. "As soon as you do, find cover!"

"Right!" Charmy nodded, and flew towards his target, but abruptly stopped. "What's the signal!"

"You'll know it when you see it," Espio called with a groan. "Now hurry up!"

The violet chameleon quickly jumped upwards, avoiding the acrobatic fighter Vector had just thrown across the museum. His amber eyes darted to see a storm of explosive bubbles escape Vectors gaping jaws. Anticipating the coming explosion, Espio threw his arm up, guarding his face from the heat and light of the eruption, while also jumping away from another blast of water.

As the smoke and flames died down from Vectors attack, Espio turned his attention back to Charmy, who had managed to sneak his way above the other two fighters. Espio nodded to his comrade, quickly throwing several knives towards his opponents once more. The knives flew through the air, only to be shot down by small shots of sparkling liquid. Noticing the marked paper now on the back of the electrical type fighter, Espio slapped his hands together.

"Watch out!" Crush exclaimed, jumping away from her partner.

The luminous crimson eyes of the electrical figure darted to his shoulder, attempting to gain sight of what was on him. Suddenly a powerful burst of flame, air and smoke engulfed the two elemental fighters, encasing them in the heat of the attack. Debris and white smoke curled upwards from the red hot flame that had slowly begun to die out from the sudden explosion.

"We did it, we did it, we did it!" Charmy announced, swirling in the air happily.

"Don't celebrate just yet, Charmy!" Vector called, only to receive a vicious kick to his abdominal region, and slide between his partners.

From within the ball of embers and smoke, steam suddenly rolled outwards as a crushing wave expanded and raced across the floor. The water smashed and slid around the trio, carrying them backwards and slamming them against the walls of the exhibit with such force the concrete began to crack. With enough of water to fill a large pool slamming into them, the wall finally broke, creating a funnel for the body of water to sweep them through. Debris and crashing waves smashed into the trio over and over, until finally the liquid spread out into a thin layer across the marble flooring in the foyer.

"The emerald is through here," the female figure, Crush, called out. "Hurry!"

Dashing through the now destroyed wall, the trio of thieves darted across the slippery floor, paying no mind to the downed detectives. However, the quiet figure quickly slid to a stop, generating the same black barrier as before.

"I'll make sure they can't reach you," the figure spoke for the first time, his voice monotone and synthetic.

However, as Vector and Charmy forced themselves up, Espios form exploded into a flurry of leaves. The electrical thieve darted his eyes towards his comrades, finding that the chameleon had made it past him.

"Hey, pal," Vector called with a smirk. "You're fight is with Charmy and I now!"

"..." With a silent stare, the figure quickly released his barrier, allowing it to shoot across the ground, electrifying the ground.

"Yikes! Charmy gimme a lift!" Vector yelped, his body twitching from the electrical current along the water.

Grabbing hold of his younger teammates feet, Charmy quickly ascended a couple feet off the ground, oblivious to the oncoming attacker. Suddenly a flash light split the two detectives, throwing them both in opposite directions. With movements fluid as lightning, the figure veered away from the wall and towards Vector, catching the crocodile by the throat with a steel grip. In fact, his hand _was _steel!

Vector watched as the figures free arm slung upwards, unleashing a fizzling beam of energy from his palm, and into Charmy like a spear. The beam pulsed and spun, effectively digging further through Charmy's leg, pinning him against the marble walls.

* * *

Using his camouflage to his advantage, Espio dashed along the walls after his targets. The light of the moon shone across his body, momentarily illuminating his body to the world, only for it to be swallowed up by the darkness once more. As he raced across the hallways, the windows began to become scarce, the corridors beginning to angle downwards towards a vault. Watching intently, Espio crept behind a statue of a horse, his camouflage dropping.

"Quick, break through the vault door," the male figure demanded impatiently as police sirens rang through the quiet, night air. "Or we'll never get out of here in time!"

"Would you stop your nagging?" Crush snapped, pushing her partner out of the way. "It'll look like those three broke in, and we'll get out without a problem!"

The girl stopped in front of the vault door with a sigh to calm her nerves. Planting both her palms on the surface of the vault door, ice began to spread across it like a plague. The crystal slowly etched its way across the surface of the steel, until finally it was covered with frost and ice.

"Okay, your turn." She nodded.

The unnamed figure chuckled with determination and cockiness, earning a scoff from Crush. The cloaked male quickly found his way directly in front of the vault door, taking up a stance that a kung fu master would use in a martial arts film. Around his raised fist, wind began to collect and spin, compacting into a condensed vortex around his hand. Suddenly he yelled out with a loud battle cry, punching the air in front of him, and thus creating a powerful vortex of air. The vortex shot across the gap between him and the door, breaking it apart like glass.

"I'll stand guard and you go get the emerald," Crush instructed strictly, shoving her teammate towards the foggy opening.

"_This is my chance to strike," _Espio thought to himself, his camouflage reactivating as he moved towards her.

With movements as quiet as a mouse, Espio neared the oblivious girl. Clutched tightly in his hand, Espio readied himself to throw the explosive ready knife at a seconds notice. Now within a couple feet of the girl, at the worst possible time, he felt it. An itch in his nose. The debris from the door being blown apart was going to make him sneeze!

"_Oh my God," _He panicked in his thoughts, stopping in his tracks. _"Not now! Of all times, not now!"_

Fighting back the sneeze with all his might, Espio clutched his face, but to no avail.

"_Ahhh_-choo!"

Like the flip of a switch, his camouflage dropped, startling the female. However, quickly regaining her bearings she rose her hands upwards, as if conducting an orchestra. Suddenly a geyser of shifting water exploded beneath Espio's feet, launching him up against the roof.

"What're you doing in there, Hurricane!" she hollered, the geyser keeping the purple chameleon suspended against the ceiling, effectively drowning him.

Finally her team mate dashed out of the vault, coins dropping from his pockets. "Just wanted to grab some _motivational souvenirs, _y'know?"

"Just as long as you have the emerald!" She scolded, running after him, allowing the geyser to disperse.

Groaning and gurgling through water filled lungs, Espio forced himself to go on, but his eyes said otherwise. The lack of air to his brain was catching up to him, and resisting the urge to pass out was beginning to be too much. With a final reach towards the fleeing figures, his world went black.

**Location: Angel Island**

Electricity fizzled and danced away from the figures form, keeping the inky darkness a lit with a divine light. Bolts of lightning arched upwards through the air, striking the stone pillars surrounding the Master Emerald, turning them blue from being electrified. Knuckles groaned, pulling himself from the ground, and glared up at the laid back figure by _his _gem. His sides ached from the tumble down the marble stairs, but he could easily ignore it. The figure watched Knuckles quietly, quirking an eyebrow upwards from the guardian's determination.

"You're really going to play the whole _hero _role, and try to stop me?" the lion asked with a sigh. "You all truly believe you're the good guys, don't you? Let me ask you something, and I expect a good answer."

"Why should I answer anything you ask me?" Knuckles barked back.

Disregarding the echidna's rude reply, the lion began to walk down the steps, his hands dug into the pockets of his cloak. "You and your friends are entitled _heroes _amongst the world population; you always jump to action whenever something threatens the peace you try to preserve. Sometimes peace comes through war, and war through change. I don't expect you to understand much of what I'm saying right now, but, what do you think is a hero?"

The cloaked figure had now stopped on the third step from the ground, his calm, turquoise eyes still fixated on Knuckles. The echidna stared back, his eyes filled with confusion. The guardian dropped his fists, his head drooping along with them. A sly grin etched its way onto the lips of the figure, watching the turmoil strike Knuckles like a freight train. The electrical figure stepped down in front of Knuckles, a genuine smile finding its way onto his face as he placed a gentle hand on the echidna's shoulder.

"You are all naïve, and blind," he stated.

With two swift punches, the lion launched the echidna upwards into the sky. His cloak fluttered as he dashed towards a tree, using it as a foot hold to launch after the guardian who had just regained his bearings. Knuckles spun around in mid air, flame gathering around his fist. The lion reeled his arm back, and before Knuckles could comprehend what was happening, the lion had disappeared with the crack of thunder and smashed his fist up into Knuckles abdomen. Spitting up saliva and blood from the impact, Knuckles could feel his nerves numbing from the power of the electrical energy racing from his attacker. Suddenly the lion grabbed hold of Knuckles arm, throwing him down to the ground.

"Not to mention weak." The figure scoffed.

A flash of brilliant light followed the lion as he disappeared from the air, smashing his heel into Knuckles a split second before the echidna impacted the hard jungle floor. Rocks darted upwards, surrounded by bolts of lightning in between. Cracks raced across the landscape, tearing apart the bottom half of the shrine in the process. The lion quickly leaped back from the wounded echidna, landing in front of the gem once more. Using whatever strength he had left, Knuckles struggled back to his feet, blood leaking from his mouth.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"You could label me as a monster, if you will," the figure spoke, almost as though it were a chore. "But in fact, I'm exactly like you. Fighting for what I believe, ultimately striving for peace. However, if you must know my name, it's Surge. I have a feeling this isn't the last we'll see of eachother."

Surge quickly jumped back towards the giant gem within the altar, his cloak flapping behind him. A flash of light flashed through the inky darkness of Angel Island, and the Emerald was gone. However, standing at the edge of the rotating portal that swallowed the almighty Master Emerald, Surge waved and walked into the darkness.

"Ciao."

**Location: Station Square**

Cheers roared from the citizens, new found hope suddenly reignited in everyone's heart. Standing casually across from the two cloak clad figures, Sonic the Hedgehog grinned slightly. The world had become mute, while the wind blew gently through the crowd. Snow continued to fall in gentle, light puffs of crystal, only to melt against the ground. Everyone had now become quiet, awaiting Sonic's next move against the terrorists.

"Sonic, I presume?" the first, shorter, figure spoke up. His cloak had become tattered and torn from the hero's attack, showing dark purple fur with the occasional patch of white. "I've been waiting for you to show up somewhere. I suppose the little holiday is over?"

"Yeah, nutheads just don't go away on their own, y'know," Sonic quipped with a smirk.

"Then you'll be relieved to know we fight for a similar cause," the indigo colored figured explained calmly, the crowd of civilians crowding around the parking blockade for a better sight of the hero confronting the fiends. "Our goal is peace, just as is yours. We want nothing more than to rebuild the world up from the ground into a suiting kingdom for our leader."

"Sounds crazy, if you ask me, pal," the hero retorted. "I'm sure if you asked everyone, they'd say they were happy with the planet as is!"

"Unfortunately, none of you have a choice in this matter," the figure barked.

"_Stopping the crook and earning a world-wide congratulations doesn't make you heroic; snuffing out strife and pain, while molding a perfect world does, however." ~ Cervantes Monarcha, Corsucus Movement Leader, 2008_

**Author Notes~ **This took longer to write than usual. Hopefully you are all making the connections as to who these cloaked villains are! I'm trying not to make it _too _noticeable! Next chapter we see the heroes all reunite, aswell as some details and questions! Please leave your comments, tips and theories in a review!


	27. Chapter 27: Imprints

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 27: Imprints**

"_Fear of death has been the greatest ally of tyranny past and present."_

**Location: Station Square**

"I disagree," Sonic retorted with a frown, noticing one of the horrid beasts from below crawl onto the building.

The beast quickly skittered over to the man standing before him, keeping its head low as it moved. Once before the shorter figure, the creature thrust its scaly, scabby arms upwards, holding the purple Chaos Emerald. Watching with awe, Sonic quickly clutched his hands into fists.

"Those don't belong to you!" The indigo furred figure grasped the gem, his eyes moving up just in time to see Sonic run at him.

A vortex of blue energy shot around the shorter figure, as embers slithered through the wind-like attack Sonic unleashed. Standing before the short figure, his partner stood with Sonic's hands held tightly within their own. The blue hero struggled against the vice-like grip, his fingers curling and uncurling, trying to overpower the man before him.

"Clean up here, Gantz," the shorter figured ordered smoothly. "We have what we came here for."

Rotating, violet portals suddenly appeared all over the park, allowing the hordes of monsters to flee the scene – as well as the cloaked leader. Grass green eyes darted past his current target, and gazed in defeat at the retreating figure holding the Emerald. The blue hero quickly tore away from the figure, who had been called Gantz, and jumped backwards just in time to escape a ring of dancing flame to erupt at the taller figures feet.

"You remind me of someone I once knew," Gantz stated curiously. "Cocky and arrogant down to the last detail!"

"Don't flatter me," Sonic snorted. "What was all that about? What are you two using the Emeralds for!"

Moving a hand into the darkness of his hood, Gantz scratched his chin in thought. "You know, I'd love to tell ya'," he admitted. "But that'd really _fire _the leader up!"

Suddenly a powerful wave of dancing flame launched up over the cloaked villains body. Sonic grunted in surprise, throwing his arm in front of his face to guard his eyes from the intense heat and light. Feeling the flames die down, Sonic peered up above his arm watching as Gantz walked through the flame completely unscathed. Embers rolled off his cloak, curling up into the air before turning into a cluster of sparks and ash.

"As much as talking to you has been intriguing," he spoke with a vicious smirk, his canines revealing themselves in the shadow of his hood. "I have to follow orders. Too bad, I thought for sure we could work together!"

Reacting with lightning-fast reflexes, Sonic shot his hand out in front of him, catching the fist of the figure. Flames jumped around the man's body, as he quickly tore his hand free of the hedgehog's grasp, and ducked down with a sweeping kick. Feeling his legs shoot out from below him, Sonic watched as the world spun around, only for it to come to a halt as Gantz delivered a swift punch into the hero's gut.

Embers fluttered upwards from the blow, as Sonic smashed against the hard, concrete roofing of the parking blockade. Cracks jumped out from the impact, causing the roof to indent slightly. Sonic grunted with surprise, catching another fiery punch, except this time around, Sonic quickly threw the man across the platform. The blue blur scrambled back to his feet in order to dash after the man he had sent through the guardrails, wasting no time to eliminate his target and get some answers.

"You're a lot stronger than I expected, Sonic," the blue blur spun around as he jumped from the parking structure, finding a white-hot ball of flame flying towards him from below.

"But that isn't much of a surprise," Gantz admitted with a grunt as he jumped from one of the lower levels of the structure. "You _did_ kill the infamous Doctor Eggman!"

Using his arms to defend himself from the ball of flame, Sonic found another crushing punch land against his body. The heat exerted from these punches was amazing! Flying upwards from the impact, Sonic spun into a ball as fast as he could and bounced across the rooftop of Twinkle Park. His pursuer followed, scorching hot pillars of flames erupted from each spot he touched.

"You're persistent!" Sonic called out with a smirk, launching off of the glass building, and onto the beach.

"I'm not paid to give up," Gantz retorted casually, landing with a stomp like motion right in front of the blue blur. A vicious burst of flame erupted around the man, knocking the hero into the sand. "Come to think of it, I'm not being paid at all!"

"So why don't you leave that _creep_and think for yourself!" Sonic shot back as he jumped back to his feet, just in time to avoid a flaming punch.

"I am thinking for myself," Gantz replied simply, stepping to the left in order to dodge a sweeping kick from Sonic. "Just because I take orders, doesn't mean I'm being controlled."

Thrusting his elbow out, Gantz smashed it into the hedgehog's skull, knocking the blue blur back into the ground. Sonic groaned, pulling himself up from the sand, noticing his friends running towards the beach with a crowd of civilians in tow. However before he could regain his footing, the legendary hero found a sudden pressure on his back. Gantz watched as the oncoming group of people neared, his boot dug into the hedgehogs' spine.

"Looks like Surge was successful!" He exclaimed with a chuckle, and jumped back from the blue hero. "Seeya 'round."

The cloaked figure quickly stepped backwards off the dock, falling into a swirling purple vortex, only to reveal the falling island paradise of which Knuckles resided on falling through the sky. People screamed in terror, while others pointed with silenced expressions of awe. As Angel Island impacted the ocean, the entire city seemed to shake, waves rolling closer to the city, threatening to drown everyone.

"Quick, L.I.N.C!" Tails shouted, throwing the orb of Jell-O like liquid onto the beach. "Expand and keep the water from getting through!"

Flashing like a light, the orb suddenly expanded outwards in the blink of an eye into a gigantic wall, easily fifty feet high. Everyone could hear the crashing of waves against the gelatin like creation. The expanded organism shifted and wiggled from the impact of water, however it managed to hold the ocean water at bay.

"Sonic!" Amy called out worriedly, sliding to her knees beside the wounded hero. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry about me, Ames," he winked. "I can't seem to ever catch a break!"

"Who was that back there, Sonic?" Tails questioned, crouching beside his brother. "It looked like you knew them."

"Not a clue, lil' man." the blue blur frowned, rubbing his head in pain. "But I have a feeling that isn't the last we'll see of them."

"Erm, Tails," Mighty gulped, watching the shifting wall uneasily. "Are you sure that thing will hold?"

"Don't worry, Mighty," the young fox reassured. "If the volume of water increases, it's molecular make-up will tighten and kneed together closer in order to strengthen itself while absorbing the water. I should be able to take it down in about twenty minutes!"

"Shouldn't we go check on Mister Knuckles?" Cream questioned quietly, her chao resting on her head.

"Good idea," Tails nodded, causing the rabbit to blush. "Sonic and I will take the Tornado there. Mighty, can you take Amy, Cream and Vanilla back to my Workshop?"

"Sur-" Amy quickly jumped to her feet, pushing the armadillo out of the way.

"Only if you two promise to come back right away!" Amy negotiated with worry. "Every time Sonic returns, we're always torn apart."

With a smile, Sonic placed a gentle hand against the rosette hedgehog's tear stained cheek. "Wait with them at the Workshop, and I'll will be there before you know it! I wanna see that smile when I get back, alright Ames?"

The sound of a plane broke through the sound of the talking crowd, as the Tornado began to descend from the clouds. The blue hero eased to his feet, with Mighty's aid, and found his way over to the park, where the famous blue bi-plane had came to a stop. The blue hero quickly made his way onto the wing of the aircraft as usual, while Tails jumped into the front seat.

"If any more of those things come, press the big, green button on the wall by my hangar!" Tails shouted over the humming engine of the plane. "It'll activate a defense system on the workshop. I installed it after Eggman's pawns attacked when we were on the Death Egg IV!"

"Did you get all that, Amy?" Mighty questioned nervously. "I didn't get a word he just said."

With a nod, Amy watched as Tails steered the aircraft around, and accelerated down the street. The thruster below the plane launched the two brothers high into the sky, back into the clouds. The young, pink hedgehog watched as her hero once again left just as quickly as he had come. It felt like a dream in some ways. But sure enough, she would smile and wait as usual.

**Location: Empire City**

Walking through the rubble, Shadow noticed the unusual quiet. People murmured amongst one another, while EMT's surveyed the crowd for anyone in need of immediate medical attention. The obsidian hedgehog turned his attention to the president, who had been escorted over to a bench in order for the minor wounds on his head to be dealt with. By now, GUN had sent in military trucks filled with soldiers in order to help with the attack. Many of the agents had taken it upon themselves to help with clean up for now, keeping ready in case a second attack came.

"Agent Shadow!" The dark hedgehog shifted his attention over to the President, who had begun to wave him over calmly.

Making his way over to the President, as well as the many government officials crowding around him, Shadow could see the worried expression playing Lincoln's face. Standing calmly and respectfully in front of the President, the dark hedgehog gazed past the man, noticing his Supreme Commander stepping out of a black SUV. His appearance had been left relatively unchanged since Shadow first met the large buck. His inky black fur seemed to radiate from the teal markings across his forehead, chest, neck and arms. Unlike Abraham Towers, the former commander, Shrike preferred battle ready attire, sporting a sleeveless and torn vest, camouflage pants and black combat boots.

"Are you okay, Mr. President?" Shadow questioned quietly.

"Besides a bit scratched up, yes I'm perfectly fine," he replied, greeting Shrike with a warm smile and a firm handshake. "Good evening, Commander. It's a shame you couldn't be here before the party was ruined."

"A shame indeed," the large buck acknowledged. "However, for the intelligence of our agents, and to further keep the nation secure, we're going to have to take you back to HQ for some questions, Mr. President."

Nodding in agreement, the aging President rose from the bench, the towel draped around his shoulders sliding off. "I completely understand," he replied with a warm smile. "Shall we be on our way, then?"

"My men will escort you to the SUV, sir." Shrike nodded, and turned his forest green eyes to Shadow. "I want you to come as well, Agent. We've received a transmission from Rouge…Station Square has been attacked as well. She's already been picked up, and she's on her way to HQ now. What happened out here, Shadow?"

Shrikes facial expression turned stern, and oddly worried as Shadow shifted his attention to the ruined Town Hall, then to look his leading officer in the eyes. "I can't tell for sure, but the energy signatures were familiar. I've seen them somewhere, but I can't quite put my finger on it. And those…things, they weren't human. I don't how else to describe it, but they weren't from _here.__"_

"I'll get you to write up a report on everything, Agent," Shrike explained. "I have other issues I'd like to discuss with you once we're back. Our jobs are being compromised, and I'd like to make a change."

Walking to the SUV, Shadow spared one more look at the run down city center. Whatever those things were, and whatever reasons those two hooded criminals needed the Chaos Emerald, it wasn't going to end well. Snapping back to reality, the dark hedgehog jumped into his seat, a solider shutting the door behind him. The roar of the engine filled the cabin of the SUV, and soon, they were on their way to the HQ.

**Location: Antoni Pedrera Museum, Spagonia – 7:32 am**

Voices filled his head, thrusting his world back into the living. Blinking a few times in order to get used to the light, Espio groaned, rubbing his head. He shifted his eyes across the foyer of the building, watching as federal and crime scene investigation agents swarmed around the building. Yellow "crime scene – do not enter" labeled tape hung across the entrances to the exhibits, while a bulldozer moved across the lobby, clearing the rubble. The voice of a Spanish man yelling overtook the other noise present, drawing Espios foggy mind over to the entrance where Vector, Charmy and Antoni Pedrera the IV – owner of the museum – stood.

"How could you let this happen to my precious exhibits!" he screamed, throwing his arms up in the air. "I offer you a fortune to keep this place safe, and this is the work I get in return!"

"Uhm, sir, I can explain," Vector mumbled, scratching his head nervously. "We were attacked, and well, we didn't exactly prepare for that specific issu-"

"I don't want your useless excuses!" Antoni hollered. "You three are fired, and you can expect a word from my lawyers in the coming weeks! I can't believe you'd allow this to happen to my family's legacy!"

"We tried our best!" Charmy murmured, while the two Chaotix sighed.

"Sir, we're going to have to ask you to wait outside for now," a larger, rounder man asked. His Federal CSI jacket hung tightly around his body. He was easily in his fifties, judging by his grey beard and flowing, swept back grey hair.

The owner stormed out of the entranceway, pushing through a group of guards on his way out. Shaking his head, the older agent rubbed his temples, and motioned for the awakening Espio to join them. Espio winced, his chest aching like never before. The chameleon laid a hand on the bandages across his chest and shoulder, and then slowly rose to his feet. Slowly but surely, he made his way over to his teammates, earning two relieved calls of his name. Vector gently patted his friend on the back, returning to his conversation with the lead investigator.

"So you say you couldn't get a glimpse of what they looked like?" the man asked curiously, a note pad in his grasp.

"Actually, one of the disguised figures seemed to be a monkey. I noticed his tail before I passed out," Espio answer hoarsely, his throat still sore from choking on water.

Noticing the man jot down the information, Espio turned to find the whole front wall of the museum had been blown apart.

"Thank you for your time, you three," the man smiled. "Don't worry about Mr. Pedrera, he's covered by his insurance. I suggest you boys go and see a doctor, you all look pretty beat up."

With another nod of appreciation, the investigator walked away, leaving the trio free to leave. Each of them had exchanged glances of relief, before walking out of the building and along the streets of downtown Spagonia. Staring ahead almost absentmindedly, Espio couldn't help but feel those three weren't your normal thieves. Besides, the one with the red eyes felt much too familiar to him. Walking past a shop housing electronics and gadgets of all types, the trio noticed a news broadcast from Station Square.

"Barely three and a half hours ago, Station Square has once again fallen victim to one of Doctor Ivo Robotniks destructive attacks,"the anchor woman informed with an almost angry tone.

The news cast turned from the blonde reporter to showcase the damage, and then switched to amateur footage of Sonic and the others fighting off the strange threat.

"His robots seemingly came out of nowhere, relentlessly attacking the civilians partaking in the celebration being held here in Emerald Square. However, before any further damage could be dealt, legendary hero, Sonic the Hedgehog swooped in and forced Doctor Robotnik's forces back through the strange warp tunnels of which they came. More on this story later tonight. I'm Tasha Gomez, reporting for channel 5 news."

"What happened last night, you two?" Espio asked, as they continued down the streets, making room for the crowd to disperse from around the shop window. "How did they get past you both?"

"We thought you were givin' them ol' one-two down there!" Charmy explained, jabbing the air ahead of him with his fists.

"Yeah, when little shocky reunited with his friends, they gave us the slip." Vector sighed, rotating his shoulder in pain. "We didn't stand a chance. But I do have a hunch there's more to this than a theft!"

Earning a convinced stare from his teammates, Vector chuckled and cracked his knuckles. "I think we got ourselves a case, boys! C'mon, I'm sure Tails and the others are at the Mystic ruins right now recuperating!"

"Wouldn't they be asleep, Vector?" Espio questioned with a sigh. "Let's find out what leads we can get around here first, maybe the locals know who they are. Then we'll take a flight out to Station Square, and we can find out what the others know."

With a huge sigh, Charmy crossed his arms and grunted. "But I wanted to see Sonic!"

**Location: Tails Workshop, Mystic Ruins – 5:45 am**

With defeated expressions and upset sighs around the table, Tails took it upon himself to break the depressing silence. Standing from his chair, the young fox clicked a button on the table, bringing up a holographic image of the planet in the center. Sonic peaked open an eye, his chair rocking gently as he balanced on the rear legs, his feet propped up on the edge of the table.

"Watcha doin' bro?" he asked curiously, the others who were still awake peering at the image themselves.

"I think I've figured something out," he chirped up. "They obviously knew, or know, the Doctor. Somehow he's relaying information to those two, and their accomplices, if any. Sonic, Mighty, remember those tubes filled with that weird liquid we saw on the Death Egg? They had seven people in them, or what we guessed were people!"

"What're you getting at, Tails?" Knuckles questioned, growing impatient.

"Sonic, you said you saw two of Eggmans shuttles fly to Earth! Well, what if the REAL Eggman escaped on one of those, with Shadow, as well as his creations? The entire battle up there must've just been a big distraction! I think he only wanted us to turn our sights from the small details, so that he could escape with his real plan!"

"Why would he wait until now of all times to show up again?" Mighty asked with a moan of annoyance. "It's not exactly fair that he gets to ruin everyone's peace whenever he wants!"

"If those people we saw are really robotic creations, or maybe biologically engineered life forms like Shadow for example, then he could have used the entire battle up in space as a way to fool us all into thinking he was dead. He bought himself time to finish all of his work, and he's only showing up again _now _because he's only _finishing _now!"

"Persistence must be the Doctor's middle name!" Mighty snickered.

"Tails, there's one problem." Sonic frowned. "When I was fighting off those two creeps in Station Square, the one with all the fire said something about me killing Eggman. Even if those are his creations, there's no way he'd keep himself hidden from his own robots."

"Tomorrow we'll get ahold of Shadow," Tails pondered, staring at the holographic image of Earth. "He was in charge of security for the President in Empire City, and they were attacked as well."

"And if the Doctor _is _still hiding like the coward he is, I'll beat him to a pulp for taking the Master Emerald again!" Knuckles snorted ferociously. "There's no telling what he could do with that much power."

"I think for now we should all catch some Z's," Sonic explained with a yawn, motioning to Amy, Cream and Cheese, who were all fast asleep on the couch. "It's been a long day, and we could all benefit from a power snooze."

With a mutual nod of agreement, the four heroes stood up, each of them stretching their stiff joints. Watching as Mighty and Knuckles left to their individual rooms in the House, Sonic walked over to his best friend, who had wasted no time and begun typing information and data into his computer.

"Try and get some sleep, lil man," Sonic said with a warm smile. "Whatever it is that's happening, we'll tackle it. Besides, you've really grown over the last couple years since we went to the Death Egg. I have no doubt in my mind that figuring this whole conspiracy out will be a piece of cake with you leading us."

Grinning with delight, Tails nodded. "Thanks, Sonic," he replied happily. "I've really been pushing my limits, and coming up with some useful inventions since you left. I realized how much damage a great mind could do to the world, so I wanted to be the opposite of that. Seeing all the technological advancements the Doctor had made aboard the Death Egg really knocked some sense into me, y'know?"

"You've always had a great mind, bro." Sonic grinned. "But even great minds need to sleep. I'll see you in the morning, err..later."

"Goodnight, Sonic." Tails nodded, his smile fading after his brother had left the room.

In all honesty, Tails was extremely worried. If the Doctor had managed to stay alive after the conflict in space, then there was no telling what he was capable of at his best. In the back of his mind, Tails couldn't help but feel trumped in terms of thought power when put against the Doctor. He seemed so brilliant. Even after all the times he had fought against Eggman; like aboard the ARK, for example, Tails had always thought he was at his full extent. That the Doctor had no tricks left up his sleeve, and that no matter what, Tails would be able to out think him. Perhaps he had underestimated Doctor Eggman.

He truly was a mastermind, and it was time Tails stepped up to the plate.

"_This time I'll let you go, but the next time we meet, you won't be so lucky!" ~ Doctor Ivo Robotnik aka Eggman – 2002, Aboard Space Colony ARK_

**To Be Continued**

**Authors ****Note~ **Slower chapter this time, but it has some foreshadowing in it ;] Try and figure out where! This chapter was fun to write – I enjoy writing scenes with the Chaotix, they always seem to find their way into trouble! I really want to open up a couple of side-stories within Violet Dreams, because I'd like for them to branch out into the other stories of the series. I've set up 2 within this chapter already! :P Can you spot them? Leave your comments, theories and tips in a review! God bless!


	28. Chapter 28: Divided

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 28: Divided**

"_Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear."_

**Location: GUN Headquarters, Emerald Desert – 11:30 am**

Humming gently in the background, the single bulb light swung ever so slightly above the steel table of which the President and Shrike sat at. The walls were covered with renaissance paintings, while tastefully placed plants lined the corners of the room. The President of the United Federation cupped the mug of coffee in front of him, and drank softly to clear his throat. Watching silently, Shadow could see the frustration building in Shrikes eyes, and the fact the President had so little information on what had attacked was beginning to anger him. The glass mug clanked against the table, and the President sat straight in his chair, resting his left leg on his right. His bandages had been removed upon arriving at the base, and the medical ward had stitched up the only minor cut on his forehead, giving him a generally hardened exterior.

"The most I saw of my failed assailants were there cloaks," the President remarked for the third time in the last hour. "They were white, and had nothing on them except a black circle on the back, with black flames around the hood, center and edges. I'm guessing they're apart of some sort of religious extremist group."

"I thought that as well, Sir," Shrike agreed. "However, no terrorist I have ever dealt with has used anything like the creatures civilians spoke of. Did you see any?"

"A group of them attacked me, and then my car," The President replied, shuttering with disgust at the memory. "Their skin looked like scales, and smelt rotten. Their arms were much, much longer than their legs, and strangely, they had blades on their elbows. I don't think I've ever seen a living creature, or anything for that matter, with a more horrid face. It's jaw hung from threads of muscle tissue, and its teeth were like dirtied knives. And I'll never forget the look of those hollow eyes."

"So you have no recollection of the two hidden attackers?" Shrike sighed after jotting down the appearance of the monsters, slightly disturbed by the description. "From what I've been informed of, they didn't seem robotic like the Doctor's previous technologic endeavors. They moved with the fluidity of a living being."

"The one was very big, and strong from what I saw," The President sighed, rubbing his temples. "The other very small, female I believe, and it seemed she had more physical strength than her accomplice."

Nodding and jotting down the information, Shrike closed the notebook in front of him, and stretched. He took a sip of the water in front of him, slurping it down rather noisily for Shadows liking. The dark hero moved across the quiet room from his position against the door, and took a seat as well, resting his hands on the table.

"Neither of them were robotic, sir," Shadow explained. "They were living, breathing creatures, Commander. In fact, the larger figure actually apologized several times. The Doctor couldn't have manufactured something like that. The only known creature I know of that's been engineered, is myself, and Professor Gerald had a much more brilliant mind than that of Doctor Robotnik."

"Perhaps they have no relation to Ivo whatsoever," Shrike pondered, rubbing his chin. "However, I'd like to discuss something of equal importance with you, Mister President."

Glancing over to his leading officer, Shadow couldn't help but feel suspicious. He had an undying respect for Commander Towers, but something was off about his predecessor. Being the guard, Shadow stood from his chair, and took up his spot by the door once more, his eyes locked onto the large buck ahead of him.

"It involves that of Sonic and his comrades," the buck explained, his lip twitching angrily. "Though I appreciate the good deeds they've done for the world, it's leaving the very organization dedicated to protecting the nation dry of work. Now the way I see it, they could be classified as criminal, or we could have them work for us. Using abilities on the levels of those few could help us with our military program."

Quirking a brow through a drink of his coffee, the President replaced his mug, and folded his hands around the mug. "What're you proposing, Commander?"

With peaked interest, and narrowed eyes, Shadow turned his attention to his commander, who had shifted in his seat. What would he ever gain by forcing that blue moron to work for the government? There had to be something more to what he was letting on. Finding it best to sit and wait for the Commander to finish, Shadow folded his arms and kept his eyes trained on Shrike.

"As you know, our own Agent, Shadow, was created by the hands of Professor Gerald Robotnik. But what you might _not_know is that it was apart of a super soldier program. We shut everything down, because yes, it was becoming a danger, and back then we feared the work he was conducting. Gerald wasn't a man for power, he took up the project for two reasons – we provided him the money to sustain his research, and he was searching for a cure for mortality. He loved his granddaughter, Maria, and so created Shadow, the living definition of immortality."

Turning his attention to the obsidian hedgehog, Shrike motioned for him to leave the room, much to Shadow's annoyance and frustration. With hesitation, Shadow nodded and left the room, his anger flaring from the sudden turn of events. The door clicked shut once again, and the Commander turned back to the intrigued President.

"Shadow the Hedgehog was the first to be infused with the Ambrosia gene, essentially what GUN wanted to create a perfect line of soldiers. Though it gifted each recipient with individual gifts – some not so great as others – it was unfinished. The project was shut down before it could be finished, and again, as you know, everyone aboard or associated was killed. Each subject the gene was given to suffered severe mental shutdown. However, Shadow was perfected. By infusing Black Dooms DNA with the Ambrosia gene, Gerald was able to by-pass the side effects of everything else. Shadow was unique. His body accepted the hybrid, while with everyone else it literally ate them from inside out."

"What are you getting at, Commander?" the President replied sternly. "I'm not about to fund a project that could potentially cause another catastrophe that Project: SHADOW did all those years ago."

"What I'm getting at, _sir,_" Shrike stated with a grin, leaning closer. "Is to start up that project once more. If we can get DNA samples from every one of those overpowered _heroes_, then perhaps we can pick up where Professor Gerald left off. The only reason the world shuns the military, is because we aren't equipped to fight the supernatural threats of which Sonic and his friends do. Now I'm not at all saying I'm not grateful, because I am, I'm simply pushing for a stronger government. Tides are changing, and I've realized after the attacks on Station Square and Empire City that we need a change as well. What do you say, sir?"

Rapping his fingers along the table, Lincoln McHolm gazed at the leader of his military with great interest. However, as tempting as it could be, to have an undefeatable government, he was weary. The need for such a brute force in this age was unneeded. Aside from the recent attacks, the United Federations had always managed to pull through.

"You bring up a very valid theory, Shrike," the President acknowledged. "The threats to our nation have been becoming much more deadly. Though we do rely on Sonic and his friends for safety, it is merely a reassurance for the obstacles we _cannot_overcome. Outside help isn't unheard of, Commander. If the government, and military, relied on inside knowledge and force alone, we wouldn't exist. The population makes up whom we are. I see two immediate problems with your plan, Shrike. One, as useful as it would be to have Sonic and the others work for the government, it is unlikely. You can't force anything upon the civilians. Although I'm sure you've come up with a plan around that, as well. Two, the work, funding, resources and minds aren't at our disposal. Gerald is one of the greatest minds of the last one hundred years. He will probably be the greatest Chaos Physicist to have ever lived. To replicate his work and findings would be near impossible. I'm sorry, but I just see this being a benefit to our nature right now, Commander."

Clutching his hands into tight fists, Shrike forced a calm nod. His lip twitched with agitation, and frustration. What gave this man any right to decide what was best for nation security? Besides the privilege of being labeled leader, he knew nothing of combat and strategy like a true soldier did. With tensed arms, and tight fists, Shrike stood to his feet.

"I'll be in contact with you about further information regarding the attacks, President," Shrike gently sneered, leading the world leader out the door.

As the door swung open, Shadow darted his attention towards the exiting buck. Once again, anger boiled up inside his veins, and suddenly Shadow began to doubt whether or not his affiliation with this government was the right choice. Waiting for his mark to leave, Shadow noticed the look of anger present on his Commander's face. Whatever they had talked about, the President had declined. Relieved somewhat, the dark hedgehog turned his gaze to Shrike immediately after being called.

"Agent Shadow," the Commander barked. "I want you to prepare for big changes. You're the key to the military's success in this world, and without you we'd be disbanded because of that blue hedgehog. I'd like you to get information on the threats encountered in Station Square and Empire City, and report back to me as soon as possible. Though the population of this nation may not know it, we're at war with those damned vigilantes, and it's about time we take our stand."

Nodding silently, the crimson washed hedgehog turned and left. Surely Rouge would be able to find out the details he had missed out on within that conversation. Although he had vowed to leave his past behind him, there was something nagging in the back of his mind, telling him that it wasn't done with. There were answers to be retrieved, and if the very government he worked for were going to retain them from him, he'd destroy it from the inside out. But, perhaps that's what his Commander was already doing.

Rounding the corner to the hallway leading to the outside world, Shadow found Rouge on the phone with someone. Though unable to make out the conversation, he immediately realized it was their Commander by her body language. He made his way towards his accomplice slowly, allowing her time to finish the phone call. Once she had hung up, a bright flash of light filled the room, warping the two from the base. The walls had ears, after all.

**Location: Adabat Jungle – 12:15 pm**

"You sure don't waste any time, now do you, sugar," Rouge chuckled with a wink. "What's gotten you so worked up?"

"Assuming you know our mission," Shadow replied angrily, as he trudged through the moist jungle floor and shrubbery. "That man is withholding details about the ARK. He knows something that I don't."

Concerned, the albino bat pulled at the hedgehogs arm bravely. "What are you talking about, Shadow?" she pried. "I thought that was all behind you!"

Ignoring her words, the dark hedgehog continued his trek through the thick jungle. Snakes slithered away from his rampage of swatting away branches, while other creatures scampered deeper into the depths of the unexplored. Everything that he had learned was only part of the truth. It was like giving someone a car, but not the key. Rouge desperately jogged behind her angered companion, grasping on him and begging for him to stop for five minutes into the trek, until finally the ultimate lifeform spun around, knocking the flustered and startled bat backwards.

"Shrike is a corrupt man," Shadow snarled viciously. "He's using the military for his own little games!"

Watching the infuriated hedgehog, Rouge grasped his shaking hand within her own two hands. "We'll sort this all out, Shadow," she reassured. "We just have to play by his rules for now, and then we can get to the bottom of it all. For some reason, I think those weird appearances in Empire City and Station Square have something to do with all this."

The birds above squawked, while crickets chirped in the bushes. Shadows heavy breaths had come to a slow, giving him the chance to cool down, and focus on the task at hand. Closing his eyes, and finally regaining his disposition, the dark hedgehog turned back around, peeling apart two massive branches that intertwined in front of them, allowing them entrance to a large clearly occupied by nothing more than a medium sized dome like building.

"Peace is no longer an era," Shadow explained. "We've receded back to war over the last day, and if we're going to solve anything, we're going to need extra fire power."

Unsure of what her friend meant, Rouge could only follow the dark hedgehog across the clearing, and up to the door of the building. It was very plain to the naked eye, having no windows whatsoever, and one door. Its paint was rusted and scratched, while vines had begun to grow along the walls. The huntress squinted her eyes slightly, attempting to make out the symbol written on the door. She blinked gently, realizing it was GUN's. Just then the door slung open thanks to Shadow.

"What is this place, Shadow?" she questioned curiously. "I didn't know GUN had bunkers outside of the country."

"It's a storage house," he explained, glancing around through the darkness. "At one point during the Millennium war they had used it as a decoy and filled it with explosives. You were guarding the King during that time. However, afterwards, they stored weaponry and supplies in here."

Rouge stood silently at the door, astounded with the size of the building within. A stone staircase rounded the circumference of the building, leading down into a lower area, which was easily three times the size of the building from outside. Above, dirt and mud from over time had covered up the glass of which the rooftop was made of, allowing only brief shafts of sunlight through into the work area below. She heard a clank, and then the hum of a generator. Suddenly the room lit up with a dull, grey light. She peered over the railings, noticing the floor itself had been made out of glass and light. Intrigued, Rouge jumped over the guardrail, and extended her wings to ease her descent beside Shadow, who had taken up a spot in front of a computer.

She turned in a slow circle, taking in all the weaponry and equipment along the walls. Five bunk beds were positioned beside a small kitchen space, TV and sofa, while three tables were fashioned together to create a dinner table. Cabinets filled with what she presumed was out dated food or battle equipment stood idle behind the computer space, which had several thick cords running from it and into the ground. She assumed it controlled the lights as well.

Suddenly steam lifted from a panel in the ground. A square of eight tiles flashed off from their lit up state, and began to rise upwards, bringing a cloud of smoke and dust with it. Rouge coughed and sputtered, blocking her eyes from the sudden storm of debris. Once the dust settled, Rouge found herself able to see again, although at first she had to blink a few times to clear her eyes of any remaining debris. With a deep gasp, her eyes grew wide at the sight in front of her.

Standing within three titanium walls, their old partner Omega E-123 stood idle. A circuit of lights flashed to life within the walls, illuminating the shining, crimson armor of the battle droid. The thick cords running from the computer to the robot flashed to life, as Shadow input commands and data into the computer to revive their shut down friend.

"Omega!"

"_Taking the duty of God upon our shoulders, we can choose our paradise through the lives we take." Abraham Towers, GUN Supreme Commander – 1985 – 2009_

**To be Continued**

**Authors ****Note - **Yes, yes, another slow chapter. Lot's of information crammed into it at the same time, though! IF you've been skimming through chapters up until now, this is definitely the one to take the time to read and think about! Once again, there's a lot of set up in this chapter, and quite a bit of foreshadowing. On another note, I just couldn't leave Omega out of this. At first, I wasn't originally going to use him; but honestly, Team Dark isn't the same without the big ol' cuddly Omega. I'm definitely on a role for updating! Any guesses why the title is what it is? Leave your theories, comments and tips in a review!


	29. Chapter 29: Dawn, Part 1

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 29: Dawn, Part 1**

"_The aim of the wise is not to secure pleasure, but to avoid pain."_

**Location: Tails Workshop, Mystic Ruins – 11:30 am**

Birds flew off in haste from the sudden opening of the front door to the workshop. The flock shifted in the sky and perched once again on the cliff side nearest to where Tails house occupied. Sonic stretched his arms above his head, letting out an incredible yawn. While never being a heavy sleeper, he felt like he had slept for ages! The blue hero quietly eased the door shut, making sure not to wake anyone inside. The blue hero walked further out onto the cliff behind the building, the same cliff that Tails had used for a runaway many times. Nearing the edge, Sonic peered down at the calm ocean water lapping up against the rocks. Ignoring the fall below, the blue hero turned his attention to the floating isle not far in the distance. Almost all of his adventures involved Angel Island in some form, due to the Master Emerald. Seeing it in the water made Sonic realize the beauty of the island, since it wasn't often he looked at it. Rising from all sides up to the center, a snow-capped mountain was the first noticeable trait, then, the lush forest surrounding.

Sonic could almost swear the island was torn right from the Mystic Ruins – the vegetation looked identical!

Backing up a few paces to insure he didn't lose his balance when he turned around, Sonic stretched his legs tiredly. He felt rusty after not doing anything for so long. In some ways, it was nice to have something to do again. He felt rekindled; his thirst for action sparked once more. An age of peace is nice once in a while, but Sonic lived for action, and he just knew there would be plenty of it for the next while. Green eyes darted over to the door to the workshop, his ears flickering from the sudden movement. From within the shop, everyone slowly piled out either yawning or still drowsy. Last to walk through the door, Tails came walking through with his hand held computer. Sonic could tell his brother had barely slept by the marks under the young kitsune's eyes. Dismissing the fact for later, Sonic tucked his hands behind his head, as everyone gathered around lazily. Amy and Cream took it upon themselves to sit on the ground against Vanilla's legs – it was clearly still early.

"I've come up with a plan everyone," Tails announced tiredly, but at the same time in excitement. "It's clear that whoever attacked Station Square and Empire City last want the Chaos Emeralds."

"When _isn__'__t _that clear?" Mighty snickered.

"Anyway, since they've gained two Emeralds as of last night," the young fox explained, digging out the Yellow Emerald from the back pack on his shoulder. "That leaves three unaccounted for. One emerald was given to Antoni Pedrara Museum for safe keeping under the Presidents order. So if I'm correct, the other three are in government safe houses in the United Federations."

"How are we supposed to find out where?" Knuckles interjected bluntly. "It's not like the government will just give them out like balloons!"

"Well, those cloaked thieves will without a doubt know where they are!" Tails replied quickly.

"So we just wait until they show up," Mighty asked with a frown. "And then pounce on 'em?"

"Not necessarily," Tails explained, shaking his head. With a few taps on his computer, a holographic map of the country popped with two pulsing dots on two sides of the country. "I've managed to track down two of the Emeralds. One is at the White House in Capital City, while the other is on Prison Island."

"Yeesh, not that place again," Sonic mumbled, memories of being imprisoned there flooding his mind.

"Don't worry, Sonic," Amy chirped up with smile and a wink. "If you get caught again, I'll rescue you like last time!"

"Last night I programmed the same software I put into my computer onto tracker, so that we can split up into two groups," Tails explained, pulling the device from the bag as well, replacing his computer inside. "That way we can get them both before anyone else, and find out what's going on!" Tails exclaimed, yawning briefly.

"What about the Master Emerald!" Knuckles piped up angrily.

"They're most likely holding it in a safe house or a base," Tails replied, rubbing his head in thought. "If we can find all the Chaos Emeralds, I should be able to lock onto the Master Emeralds energy signature. Then, you and Sonic and use Chaos Control to go right there!"

"You've really been thinking up a storm, huh Tails?" Sonic joked, and winked at his little brother. "So what're the teams, head honcho?"

"Well, we should even them out as best we can." Tails nodded, and pointed over to Mighty and Knuckles. "Since you two are the strongest, you'll be on separate teams. Mighty, you go with Cream and Amy. While Sonic, Knuckles and I will go to Prison Island, since we have the most experience together as a whole."

"What!" Amy hollered, jumping to her feet. "Why don't we get to have any fun like you three!"

With a sigh, Tails handed Amy the tracker and a communicator. "Because no one else here knows how to pilot the Tornado. Capital City is only a two hour train ride from here, so it'll be easy to get to."

Snagging the communicator from a disappointed Amy, Mighty scanned it, making sure he knew how to use it in case of emergency. "What do we do once we have the Emerald?"

"Come straight back!" Tails announced. "We can't risk them getting any leverage on us!"

Hearing the whistling steam engine in the distance, Sonic sniggered. "Looks like your ride is here."

Though still tired, Cream and Cheese hugged Vanilla goodbye with enthusiasm. Of course, after the elder rabbit gave a stern lecture on safety to her thirteen-year-old daughter. Noticing Amy's glum expression, the blue hero quickly sped up behind her before she followed her teammates to the train station. With a warm smile, Sonic grabbed her hand, giving her the bracelet Chip had left behind.

"If anything goes wrong, this'll protect you," Sonic reassured calmly. "Call if you guys get into a jam, and I'll be there in the blink of an eye, alright?"

Nodding through teary eyes, Amy hugged the blue hero tightly before running off after her fellow heroes, leaving Team Sonic to prepare the Tornado for take off. Per usual, the cliff side lifted upwards to form an extended, titanium runaway, pushing the snow off into the ocean below. Tails tapped a button on his device, opening the hangar doors. Slowly a tow hitch pulled the cobalt bi-plane from the depths of the Workshop, and out onto the runaway. The trio quickly made their way over to the aircraft and took their positions – Sonic on the wing as usual. Before long, the planes thruster burst to life thanks to the Chaos Emerald within its console, causing the jet to inch forward along the runaway. Finally, the tow hitch keeping it in place launched along the runaway, bringing the plane with it and effectively throwing the aircraft into the sky like a slingshot.

**Location: En Route to Capital City – 1:52 minutes until Arrival**

"Look Cheese!" Cream called ecstatically, staring out of the window on the train.

Once the train had left the station at the Mystic Ruins, it had made its way onto the country's longest bridge – almost seven kilometers long! The sparkling water seemed to flash by due to the speed the locomotive moved. Dolphins jumped from the tides every so often, flipping in the air before becoming submerged once again. Cream watched in awe at the creatures, while Amy sighed and fiddled with the communicator in her hand. While the two females of the group stayed awake in their own worlds, Mighty dozed off in the comfort of an unoccupied bench. His gentle snoring didn't seem to affect Amy in the least – she was too fixated on the task at hand. Her gaze left the piece of equipment in her palm, and trailed around the train car, finding that no one else was in it except for her team. The consistent giggling of one of her best friends served to keep a smile on her face, but she was preoccupied within her own mind.

What if she messed up? She always ended becoming a nuisance one way or another. With a sudden spark of confidence she gripped the device in-between her fist, as she nodded to herself, vowing to make everyone proud. The train slowly began to ascend a slope, leaving the bridge and moving up a mountainside. Pine trees began to come in clusters, until finally the train was moving through the forest just outside the Capital. Amy turned her attention to Cream, who had spotted a couple of mountain goats.

"Look!" the rabbit exclaimed with a giggle. "They have beards!"

"You're right!" Amy laughed. "Their eyes kinda droop like Professor Pickles!"

The two friends laughed between themselves, oblivious to the two thuds against the roof of the train. Mighty snorted in his sleep, as a bump in the track threw him onto the floor, waking him up. The armadillo groaned, and slowly eased himself up, feeling the need to find the little boys room. Scrambling over to the door to the next car back, Mighty inched across the connecting piece and scurried through the hall of the seated passengers, unaware of the figure rising from their seat. The black armadillo hurriedly knocked on the door, only to find the bathroom occupied.

"Uggghh," he groaned, shifting in his place when suddenly he noticed the cloaked figure draw neared.

"Mighty?" a voice came from behind the hood, the same voice that belonged to the female figure that had attacked the Chaotix. "Mighty, is that you?"

Blinking once to make sure he had heard correctly, his mind now distracted from natures calling, he stepped towards the female with surprise. "Crush?"

The girl quickly brought her hood down, her silvery white hair hung loosely around her face, while some of it was pulled into a ponytail past her pointed fox ears. Her metallic-blue eyes shone with happiness as the two embraced tightly in the hall of the train car. Pulling away from the female with astonishment, Mighty rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing correct.

"Where's Ray?" she exclaimed in a hushed voice, as to not disturb the other citizens.

With an adverted gaze, Mighty sighed, tears beginning to brim in his eyes once again. "Well, he was killed, actually."

Gasping in surprise at the news, Crush hugged her long lost friend once again, consoling him. "I'm so sorry to hear, Mighty…"

"No, it's okay," the armadillo nodded, wiping the tears from his eyes. "He died at peace."

"I'm glad to hear that," Crush smiled warmly, but was replaced quickly by a look of suspicion as she glanced behind her. "Listen, Mighty you need to get off of this train, it's going to explode!"

With a confused look, Mighty turned to the man just leaving the stall, a putrid odor trailing from the lavatory. "Gee, I don't think the smell is _that_ bad…"

"No!" she exclaimed, trying to keep quiet. "My partner and I were sent to stop the ones who are going to get one of the Chaos Emeralds. I can't stay for long, but please, try and get away!"

With a sudden realization hitting him like a ton of rocks, Mighty's face went pale. His eyes scanned the robe like cloak draped around the girls' small figure. Sure enough, it was identical to the ones he had seen in Station Square. With a solemn frown, Mighty shook his head with a sigh.

"So you're one of them, huh?" he questioned rhetorically. "I'm sorry, Crush. My friends are in the next car, and we're the ones you were sent here for. Why would you join a band of thieves like that? You're better than that!"

Trying to shush her friend, Crush frantically covered his mouth, attempting to calm the armadillo down. "What do you mean? They're trying to bring a revolution! If they succeed, the world will be transformed into a utopia, Mighty! Join us, you still have time!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Mighty replied quietly, his stomach sinking. "I can't let you hurt these innocent people. I'm going to have to stop you, Crush."

Firmly grasping the females wrist within her cloak, Mighty stared at her eyes, causing her to snap her arm back. The girl backed up slightly with narrowed eyes and look of disbelief. By now, people had begun to whisper a theory about what was going on, staring at the two anthro's. With a sigh, the armadillo turned his attention to the scanner in his hand, the pulsing circle of light growing closer. Turning his attention ahead of him again, his heart began to pound like a drum.

She was gone.

"Everyone, please remain calm!"

Suddenly a rough bump knocked everyone about within the car. Mighty shot his attention ahead, finding that the last two train cars had been unhitched, and allowed to fall back from the rest of the train. The young armadillo quickly ran to the door, swinging it open. The wind screamed in his ears, as he watched Crush moved about atop of the train with another much larger cloaked figure. Thinking quickly, the traveler jumped onto the hitch, the bumps of the train tracks making it hard for him to balance. Hoping in the back of his head he was doing the right thing, Mighty thrust down on a red lever, activating the emergency breaks and allowing him to jump between the rail cars before the distance became to great.

With a thud he landed behind his former friend, a stern look on his face. The duo ahead turned around curiously, their cloaks flapping in the wind, yet somehow the hood remained over the larger figures head. Tightening his hands into fists, causing a green light to envelope them, Mighty spoke up, managing to break through the howling wind.

"I can't let you win, Crush," he explained. "You can still come back."

"You don't understand, Mighty!" she yelled in a cracking voice, close to tears. "He has such big plans for this world! He's leading us all to an unending age of peace! He..he told us that nothing can become great until something has become destroyed. He described it like a phoenix rising from its ashes. Mighty, don't make me do this. I don't want to hurt you!"

Noticing the larger figure continue running down the train car, Mighty quickly punched the air in front of him, sending a circular burst of pulsating white light past his friend. The blast collided with the figure just as he was preparing to jump one train car ahead, sending Crush's accomplice smashing through the tarp-like cover between the connecting section of the train cars. Shaking his head, Mighty walked closer to the sobbing female, making sure the bumps didn't knock him off.

"You have a chance, Crush!"

A pillar of rushing water exploded from in front of him, knocking him off of the train, and into the ground. His world spun round and round, as he slid down the cliff side. He clawed at anything he could find to stop his descent down the mountainside, but found nothing but roots and rocks, which tore up his gloves. Adverting his eyes upwards, he found Crush running down the side of the mountain either after him, or for him – he wasn't sure. The armadillo suddenly grunted and everything came to a stop, the tree he had collided tilting slightly from the impact. Though in pain, Mighty turned his attention to the incoming fist being thrown at his head. The traveling hero quickly tilted his neck to the side, avoiding the blow. Wood chipped away from the impact, cracking the tree. Using the split second he had, Mighty rolled away from his attacker, quickly jumped back to his feet and sliding down to a plateau on the mountainside, avoiding a wave of water.

"It didn't have to turn out like this," Crush screamed, water shooting from beneath her feet.

Using the elements around him, Mighty punched a boulder, shooting it up through the sky towards Crush. However a thin burst of water split through the massive obstacle, slicing it like paper. The two halves dropped back into the ground, cracking the soft forest soil. Throwing his arms up in front of his face, Mighty deflected a mighty kick from Crush, allowing himself to push her back.

"I don't want to hurt you," Mighty called out.

**Meanwhile…**

Screaming with surprise, Amy jumped away from her seat, pulling Cream and Cheese with her. Twisted metal and chipped wood slid across the ground as the huge figure rose from the debris, a shining material slowly forming around his hulking fists. The young hedgehog glanced at the ground in worry, as it began to bend and creak from the weight of whatever was standing in front of them. Then, without any warning the figure charged forwards, leaving cracks and gaping holes in the floorboards with each step.

The girls quickly jumped in opposite directions in order to avoid the charging figure, each landing on their own padded bench. Glass shattered from one of the train cars windows breaking, and the figure quickly twirled around, causing the train to sway dangerously. A flash of light lit up the room, giving way for Amy's mallet. The figure huffed and glanced behind him at the open door. With unusually fast reflexes, the large figure smashed through the doorway, and grabbed onto the edge of the train as he dropped onto the ground. The train began to screech from the sudden weight it was pulling, causing sparks to fly from its wheels. The figure chuckled and dug their rock-encased feet into the dirt, smashing through the railway ties in the process. Before long the train came to a screeching halt, throwing Amy, Cream and Cheese against the far wall.

"Sorry," the figure called out, heaving the entire train to the right.

As if the entire locomotive were simply a toy, the large figure ripped the partially moving train from the trains, and sent it sliding down the side of the mountain. However, having not finished just yet, the bear from Empire City jumped over the edge of the railway, and slid down the Cliffside after the barreling train cars.

Fortunately, a cluster of trees had stopped the passenger cars, save for one. Amy, Cream and Cheese spun around within the tumbling car, glass shattering with each hit. The large bear jumped from his position behind the rolling car, and soared over top of it, landing on the shore of a lake. His feet dug into the rocks, and with a mighty swing of his fist, rock shot outwards from the impact. The rock washed across the rooftop of the car like water, obliterating the walls and the entire left side of the train car. Glass smashed to the ground, as steam rose up from the heated steel. Smirking, the bear pulled his fist from the metal; the rock receding back into his body like it was apart of him.

"Take this, you creep!"

Jumping through the gaping hole in the train car, Amy swung her hammer around with such ferocity a gust shot upwards. The bear watched in horror as the weapon smashed into his body. A ring of wind erupted from the point of impact, shooting the large bear bouncing across the once calm lake. Ripples erupted from several spots where the bear skipped over, causing waves to swish against the shore. Finally the bear tumbled in mid air and smashed into the cliff side on the opposite end of the gigantic lake, causing him to fall forwards into the water.

Heaving in breaths out of anger, fear and adrenaline, Amy dropped her weapon into the wet rocks as Cream scurried out beside her.

"Is the scary guy gone?" she murmured, while Cheese hid behind a close by tree.

Everything had grown quiet, as the lake once again settled. "Yeah, I doubt he could have swam out of there with his weight. All that rock must have really weighed him down!"

However, before they could fully settle, the ground began to shake. The girls looked down with confusion, finding that the rock beneath them had started shifting. Suddenly the ground spiked up around them, creating a chamber of rock and clay. Dirt tumbled away from the insides of the prison, as the two heroes backed up against the dirty wall. A laugh filled the inside of the prison like structure, causing Amy and Cream to hug each other in fear. Slowly, a figure began to rise from the ground, rock and dirt chipping away from its being as it emerged from the earth like liquid.

"Sorry," he murmured eerily.

"_The technology of our age is unlike anything we've had before. It grows, like a child. The possibilities are endless if we use our blessings properly." Professor Gerald Robotnik, Chaos Physicist, 1889 – 1953_

**To be Continued**

**Authors ****Note**** – **Perhaps I'm updating too fast…You know the drill!


	30. Chapter 30: Dawn, Part 2

**IMPORTANT: keep in mind that everything is happening at the same time!**

* * *

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 30: Dawn, Part 2**

"_Fear is pain arising from the anticipation of evil."_

**Location: Spagonia – 11:45 am**

Traversing the busy streets of the Spanish capital seemed like an impossible feat to the trio, but sure enough they pushed and shoved their way through. After visiting a medic clinic to have their wounds tended to, the Chaotix were off once again. Though Charmy was the only one with a serious injury, he continued buzzing around with the same amount of energy as usual. His fascination with the bands playing on the street corners, and the extravagant statues and fountains kept him occupied for the entire trek to the Spagonia University. Students bustled to and from their lectures, acting like traffic. In one direction, a steady flow of students occupied with their cellphones or friends moved away from the school towards cafes or the nearby strip mall. The other direction had a continuous flow of people making their way into the high, iron gates of the University. Past the gates, a great courtyard expanded into view, with a massive statue of a king rested in a fountain.

"Wooooww!" Charmy exclaimed with awe, pointing at the statue. "Look at that guys!"

Ignoring the bee's comments, Vector and Espio made their way to the office of the one person they knew would be able tohelp them out. Ever since the planet was split apart, Professor Pickle had become a great asset in the heroes lives. It was roughly two summers ago that the Chaotix met the witty professor, at a celebration for Tails' invention being bought by GUN. Vector had struck up a conversation with the old man over food, and insisted that tomato sandwiches' were _much_better than cucumber. After a heated debate, the two actually became good friends. Besides, the Chaotix had to give credit to Pickle for all their latest jobs!

After walking through the halls of the university for what felt like ages, the trio found the door that led to their old friends. After knocking briefly, the team walked in to find the old man delved deep into a book on Echidna History, with a cucumber sandwich in hand.

"So the Nocturnus and Knuckles tribe leaders were actually _brothers?_" Pickle exclaimed in shock, taking a bite of his lunch and jotting down the information in a notepad.

"Hey there, Professor!" Charmy greeted happily with a wave.

Dropping his book onto his desk gently, the Professor threw his arms up into the air with delight, a smile planting onto his wrinkly features. "Ah! It's good to see you boys! How's life in Spagonia treating you three? Have you come for another job?"

"Er, no," Vector sighed. "We didn't do so hot with the last one. But that's actually why we've come here."

"What is it I can do for you boys today?" the Professor asked, standing up from his large leather chair.

"Well, you see, during our job at the museum last night," Espio started somewhat nervously. "A band of thieves broke in and stole the Chaos Emerald being held there. We were wondering if you've heard anything that could help us out?"

"Hmm, a theft?" the Professor sighed and shook his head at the thought. "Interestingly, there has been three other thefts – all of which involving the Chaos Emeralds! One in Station Square, and the other in Empire City. Were these thieves wearing a robe to disguise themselves?"

"Yeah," Vector replied excitedly. "Have they been caught!"

"No."

"Oh," the trio sighed in unison.

"However I did do some research on their wardrobe," the professor mused, pulling out an old book. "It actually dates back to just after Chaos attacked the Knuckles tribe nearly two thousand years ago!"

"I never took you to be a fashion expert, old man," Charmy snickered, earning a swat to the head by Vector.

"The exact same robes were worn by the presumed Gods of the Echidna culture," the Professor explained, showing a page of the book to the trio. On the page a brilliant painting of eight figures stood in front of a brilliant green light, each wearing a similar styled robe as the figures from their encounter at the museum. "You see, I did some research, and the Echidna's believed the white along the front there, resembled purity. The gold cuffs resembled free will. And the circle on the back stood for unison."

"What's all that supposed to mean, gramps?" Vector asked curiously.

"The purity was relevant because they were considered Gods, while the gold cuffs important because the Echidna's believed the Gods granted anyone who worshipped them free-will. Finally, if the Gods were split, or deceived one another for power, they would crumble, and fall victim to being overcome by the great power of the Master Emerald, you see."

"So these crooks are extremists hooked on Echidna lore?" Espio questioned. "Why don't they just get together and play Dungeons and Dragons while they're at it?"

Shutting the book and returning it to the shelf, Professor Pickle finished his sandwich and sat down. "It's nothing to joke about, Young Espio. The Master Emerald and Chaos Emeralds are the living examples that the Echidna lore was more or less true! However, for what reason these crooks are copying the Echidna fashion is beyond me."

"What do you suggest we do?" Vector asked with a sigh.

"I recommend you go reunite with Tails and Sonic! No doubt they put a stop to the crooks back in the United Federations. I haven't a shadow of a doubt that Tails has been researching all that's possible about these figures."

Suddenly a scream from outside caught the attention of the four, each of them turning to the large window lining the far wall of the office. With the shattering of glass, the Chaotix yelped and shielded their face, only for a figure dressed in the black robe to jump through. A portal spun open between the Chaotix and the Professor, allowing the figure to push the Professor in and jump through.

"Professor!" Charmy bellowed, flying after him.

"Charmy, no!" Vector hollered, reaching after the young bee, but came up short.

The portal spun to a close, causing a storm of papers to flutter to the ground. However, a beep sounded from the communicator on Vectors watch.

"_Vec!__"_ Charmy called. "_I__'__m __on __Prison __Island! __I__'__m __chasing __the __hooded __weirdo, __he __has __the __Professor!__"_

"Don't give away your position, Charmy," Espio spoke up. "Keep silent and be stealthy!"

"Right! We'll be there as soon as we can!" Vector bellowed with certainty.

**Location: Adabat**

"Omega!" Rouge exclaimed with shock. "How did you find him? More importantly, how is he in such good shape?"

Continuing to input data and commands into the computer, Shadow finally finished and watched as the light flashed brighter within the walls that held their friend. Finally, two red dots flashed to life within the blackness of the robots optical sensors. After emitting a few, long beeps and clicks, Omega stepped forwards. His body shifted around, examining and overlooking his surroundings. Columns of information flashed across his optical sensors, recording everything from chemical make up of the two figures head of him, to information from the Internet about the weapons found in the bunker. Finally its sights rested on Shadow and Rouge, and it approached them slowly, searching its memory banks for records of the people before him.

"Rouge the bat," Omega droned, and turned to face Shadow, who had remained expressionless. "Shadow the Hedgehog. Greetings, teammates, awaiting mission briefing."

"How did you get him functioning again, Shadow?" Rouge questioned with delight.

"Using the technological experience from living aboard the research vessel, Space Colony Ark, Shadow was able to reconstruct my armor and upgrade my weaponry." Omega explained, his upper torso spinning around. "What is my mission, Shadow?"

"His hard drive and AI systems were still tact after he exploded," Shadow informed Rouge, and then turned to Omega. "Locate and track all remaining Chaos Emeralds in the United Federation. Inform me of any movement regarding the targets."

"Tracking three targets," Omega responded, and then spun around to face one of the cabinets. A precise laser shot upwards from its head, slicing the wood structure apart. Laying on the ground, the green Chaos Emerald lay idly after spinning briefly from falling. "One of three targets located. Target two is located in Capital City, White House."

Walking over to the faintly glowing gem, Shadow retrieved it and returned to his teammates, only for a flash of green light to engulf them. As the light faded, the bunker remained silent, only for the generator to power down once more after all signs of life were confirmed gone. The lights flashed off, and once again it was left barren.

**Location: Prison Island – 12:00 pm**

"Been awhile since we've been here, eh guys?" Sonic called above the roaring wind.

"It's been virtually untouched since it blew up during the fight for the ARK!" Tails exclaimed, surprised that so much time had passed.

"A lot can change in such little time, huh?" Knuckles remarked with a smirk.

As the biplane descended through the clouds, the former landing pad GUN had used for their aircrafts on the coast of the island came to view. With a clank, the landing gear aboard the plane dropped down, allowing the plane to make its landing. As the aircraft skimmed across the asphalt, Tails slowly cut back on the thrust, allowing the plane to bounce gently on the ground, and eventually come to a smooth stop. Immediately the blue hero jumped onto the ground, scanning around him with a grin of nostalgia.

"That's the route I took to find you and Amy before the entire place blew," Sonic explained, pointing to a pathway through the forest. "Man that was crazy!"

"We just barely escaped too!" Tails piped up with a grin.

With a snort of anger Knuckles walked towards the signal on the scanner in his hand. "While you two were having your little adventure," he barked with annoyance. "I was looking for the pieces of the Master Emerald scattered across the country no thanks to Eggman!"

Smirking and slapping the echidna on the back, Sonic laughed. "C'mon," he chuckled. "The ol' Doctor is dead, don't hold a grudge on a guy who isn't even alive! He might come back n' haunt ya'!"

With a grin, Sonic dashed out onto the beach, leaving Knuckles terrified and pale. "H-hey! Don't joke about that!"

"Relax, Knuckles!" the blue hero waved. "Ghosts don't exist!"

"Oh yes they do!" shouted Knuckles angrily. "I had to fight one just to get your sorry ass up to space to save the day!"

"Then you almost killed us, remember?"

Sonic quickly shot across the beach, easily avoiding Knuckles enraged rampage. Tails simply sighed as he walked behind the infuriated treasure hunter, keeping an eye on his computer for any signs of the Emerald being found before them. As the duo walked across the beachfront, and slowly made their way through the depths of the jungle portion of the island, Sonic had ran ahead to scout for danger of any sort – or so he said. Hearing shrill calls of excitement from all around, Tails and Knuckles sighed and made their way through the many tree-trunk tunnels. Finally the scanner began to beep frantically, as the pulsing dot on the screen released rings of light across the black screen sporadically.

"It's right up ahead!" Tails announced, pointing up to a ledge.

Using his namesakes to climb, Knuckles quickly ascended the steep, moss covered rock formation, while Tails simply flew up. As the duo reached the top, Sonic walked up to them tossing the Emerald up and down in his hand with a smirk. Finally he glanced around the scenery, noticing a large fallen tree in the distance.

"Hey, this is where I fought Shadow," he explained. "He came flying through the air, out of absolutely nowhere, and landed on that log over there!"

Pointing over to the mentioned tree, Tails and Knuckles turned their attention to the point of interest, only to find a person standing ready to strike. Before either of them could register what had happened, the figure shot across the wide river snaking through the forest, and jabbed a fist into Sonic's face, knocking the blue hero to the ground harshly. Tails and Knuckles each jumped away as the figure slid between them, the Emerald in hand. With a quick recovery, Sonic jumped back to his feet, and spun to face the thief.

"You!" Sonic hollered, and slung his arm out to point at the cloaked figure. "Just who are you guys, anyway?"

"We're not too different from you three," the figure spoke with a cool voice, which caught Knuckles attention.

The scarlet echidna roared out and quickly jumped towards the cloaked figure, his fist drawn back to strike. Rock and dirt shot up from the collision of Knuckles punch against the ground, the thief having easily back stepped to avoid the attack. Electricity suddenly crackled in the air, and with the crack of thunder Knuckles rolled across the platform with a smoking mark on his chest. Snow and leaves fell to the ground around the knocked out echidna after smashing against a tree. Sonic turned his attention from his downed comrade, and back to the escaping figure.

"Take care of Knuckles," Sonic explained to Tails. "I'll go get the Emerald back!"

In a flash of cobalt light, the blue hero shot across the river, water flying up behind him as he snaked up the current and after the electrical lion jumping across the branches. The blue hero glanced upwards as he quickly jumped from the top of the water to the carved out tree trunk lying on its side. The blue hero shot around the curved chunk of wood as if it were a racetrack, watching as the electrified figure dashed across the water as if he were made of helium. Sonic soared through the air after the escaping thief, and once again shot across the water, this time across a lake. Beginning to catch up to the figure, Sonic noticed the electrical currents spreading from each spot the figure landed, forcing him to swerve between electrified patches in the water. The blue hero quickly drew back his hand, holding his hand out as if holding a baseball. Slowly ribbons of white and blue wind-like energy curled and spun around within his palm. The strands of energy spun and rotated together to form a tightly packed sphere of rotating light within his hand. Smirking, the blue hero sped up and lunged at the lion, thrusting the attack forwards with all his might.

Glancing behind him, the lion quickly shot through a spinning violet portal, only to have it close right before Sonic's attack exploded into a vicious, rotating sphere of cutting wind. Water shot upwards on either side of the attack, when suddenly it died down, allowing the lake water to crash back in on itself. The blue hero jumped back from the point of impact, scanning the water for his target, but found nothing.

"Sonic!" The blue hero spun around on the rock he landed on, finding another figure jetting across the top of the water like a jet.

"Woah!"

Narrowly avoiding the speeding figure, Sonic jumped onto shore, watching as streak of blue energy flared from behind the figure, leading into the same portal the other had fled through. Sonic clutched his fists and readied himself to jump, beginning to run towards the bank, only to realize the portal closed. With a yelp, Sonic shot across the lake with a Sonic Boost, only to fly into a snow bank on the opposite side. The sound of a plane engine roaring suddenly filled the forest, causing birds and animals to retreat and back to their homes. The Chaotix screamed for dear life as the flaming aircraft bounced on the lake, and suddenly spun out of control across a patch of ice on a clearing in the trees. Using the installed ejection seats, the Chaotix shot out of the fiery plane and landed in the trees just before it exploded.

"I suppose that wasn't ready to be flown yet," Vector gulped, as he and Espio fluttered down below Charmy.

In the distance, Vector noticed Team Sonic making their way towards the clearing. The flaming wreck that was once Professor Pickle's experimental jet puffed smoke into the sky, as the flames began to die out. Charmy waved excitedly towards their friends, signaling them over.

"Hey, Vector!" Knuckles called out. "What are you three doing here?"

"Well Charmy jumped through this weird portal after Professor Pickle," Espio explained. "So we took one of his jets, and since Vector here can't fly it properly, we crashed."

"Wait, where's the Professor then?" Sonic exclaimed, excited to see the old man himself.

"Someone in a strange cloak kidnapped him right out of his office," Vector explained. "Say, have you guys been dealing with the same group?"

"I fought off two of 'em in Station Square last night," Sonic explained with a smirk. "It seems like they're planning something big if they need the Professor as well!"

"We had better get to Capital City and see if Amy and the others are okay!" Tails exclaimed worriedly, the Tornado landing in the clearing thanks to Tails autopilot feature. "I have a feeling they're going to need help!"

**Location: The Whitehouse, Capital City – 12:45 pm**

Screaming civilians and sirens filled the air as Team Dark appeared in the courtyard of the Whitehouse. The same horrific creatures that had attacked twelve hours earlier swarmed through the streets, overturning cars and jumping across the streets attacking innocent bystanders. A bolt of dancing, yellow energy shot through the air, tearing the head of one of the beasts clean off. Shadow quickly turned his attention back to Omega, who had begun firing at a group of the creatures swarming the entrance to the gigantic presidential residence. Drivers smashed their horns madly as the cars screeched and slid into each other attempting to avoiding fleeing citizens. Flames surrounded the gardens lining the gates to the Whitehouse, while the beasts jumped over the iron gates, and swarmed around the walls of the building. Team Dark sped through the chaos, attempting to find their way through, and into the building.

"What the hell is happening!" Rouge yelled amongst the destruction. "Are they trying to destroy the city?"

"It's all a distraction," Shadow relayed, noticing three cloaked figures jumping through to the upper levels of the Whitehouse. "We have to hurry!"

Once again, a brilliant flash of light expanded around the trio, warping them within the sturdy walls of the brilliant structure. Once the light had faded, the team continued their way through the building, and made their way across the winding hallways and corridors. Marble statues of previous presidents lined the hall to the oval room, while the flags of the United Federation hung between each statue. Glass shattered in on the elegant marble flooring, as a swarm of the beasts roared and jumped in their path.

"Chaos…**LANCE**!"

A dazzling bolt of pure Chaos Energy shot across the hallway, skewering the central beast and exploding into a field of violet energy, eradicating the entire group. Using the sheer bulk of Omega, the trio smashed directly through the wide oak doors, finding the President tied to a chair. The dark hedgehog scanned the room. The floor was littered with the dead bodies of the Presidents bodyguards, and many of GUNs soldiers – many of whom Shadow knew by name. Forcing the thoughts and information of the fallen soldiers from his mind, Shadow noticed four cloaked figures standing with their backs towards the GUN agents.

"Surrender yourselves!" Shadow barked, Chaos Energy dancing around his fist.

Having already encountered the figure to the immediate left, Shadow noted she was Athana from the attack on Empire City. The central figure had its cloak torn, revealing indigo and white fur, while the other two were completely indistinguishable, save for electricity surrounding one, and fire the other.

"Ah, so GUN sent their secret weapon out to play, hm?" the center most figure chuckled, insanity showing through his voice. "Well it seems they're too late! With four emeralds in my possession, I'll be able to cripple the nations defenses, and bring about the first phase to the end of the beginning!"

"_It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience." Ivan Janswick quoting Julius Caesar, Project Shadow Test Subject 005, 1947_

**To Be Continued**

**Authors****Note**** – **Now before you say anything! I updated this all at once because, well, it introduces the next arc of the story! Finally we get to see exactly who these disguised figures are, as well as a glimpse of what they want! I already have the next chapter written, but I'm going to hold off on that, just so you can all digest the last four chapters =P. Next time we get into the all out invasion on the world…remind you of someone? Oh, and we've hit the halfway mark of the story! Cheers! Leave your theories, comments and tips in a review!


	31. Chapter 31: Dawn, Part 3

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 31: Dawn, Part 3**

"_All men of action are dreamers."_

**Location: Outskirts of Capital City – 12:25 pm**

A jet of water shot across the plateau, ripping apart several trees in the process. Wood and leaves swirled away from each impact, giving Mighty less and less to hide behind. The young traveler quickly bounded behind a boulder and punched his fist forwards, launching the rock across the moist ground and towards the unsuspecting water manipulator. Suddenly a wall of ice shot upwards from the ground, encasing the boulder and freezing it just before it could collide with the female. Using a jet of water to jump into the air, Crush yelled out furiously as she descended over Mighty at a rapid pace. Rock and dirt flew upwards from the ring of water that shot upwards from Crush's impact, forcing Mighty to distance himself from the attack. White energy spun around the armadillo's fist once more as he punched the air in front of him, shooting a spinning sphere of energy hurtling towards the fox. With a growl of annoyance, Crush swung an arm upwards creating a blade of water from ground, slicing through the mass of energy. However using the distraction to his advantage, Mighty jumped through the air, fist reeled backwards ready to strike. A burst of water shot out merely inches away from Crush's face, blocking the blow.

"Just come back to the _right _side, and all of this will be over!" Mighty reasoned while avoiding two jets of water. "I don't want to fight you anymore!"

"Then stop, and I can bring you with me!" Crush announced with determination. "I'm doing you a favor, Mighty! You've always been _soo _stubborn!"

A circular wave of crashing water suddenly shot out from around Crush, flooding the entire plateau and sweeping the debris off onto the mountainside. Mighty quickly bounded across floating trees, causing them to bob and bounce in the chaotic currents. As the tides rose and the rushing water grew more hectic, Mighty found it increasingly difficult to keep a foothold on the objects floating in it. Finally, the armadillo jumped from a boulder of which was barely visible, and landed in the small circular area of dryness within the body of water. Biting his lip with regret, Mighty thrust an open palm upwards against Crush's jaw, knocking her up with a burst of transparent energy. The rushing water over the plateau suddenly exploded into a thick mist just as the girl smashed against the wet ground. Mighty trudged over to her through the mud, his shoes squishing in the moist dirt.

With an extended arm, and an open hand, Mighty smiled exhaustedly. "Crush, _I'm _doing _you _a favor," he reasoned calmly in between heavy breaths.

Crush groaned in defeat, glaring up at the one person she never wanted to oppose. "I can't go back, Mighty," she explained mournfully. "I want this. If what He says is true, then there'll be no more fighting. No more violence. No more hate."

"You can't be certain of it, Crush," retorted Mighty with determination. "You could just be a pawn in the whole scheme of things!"

Shaking her heard gently, the young girl slowly pulled herself to her feet, ignoring Mighty's urge to help. "You don't understand. Maybe one day you will; and I pray you survive the trials to come so that you do. So that we can be together in that perfect world."

"If it means saving you, then I'll never die," Mighty promised with a stern look. "This isn't like you, Crush."

"Hope really changes a person," she replied quietly, and then jumped back through a purple vortex. "I'll see you around."

"Wait!"

Suddenly the vortex dispersed, leaving the confused armadillo alone.

**Location: Memorial Lake, Outside Capital City – 12:25 pm**

Within the rock chamber Amy swung her hammer with all her might, only for it to be caught within the bear's fist, which had grown to unnatural sizes. The bear snickered and swung Amy around into the wall, causing it to crack. Amy groaned and rolled along the side of the chamber onto the ground, leaving Cream and Cheese to fight for themselves. A brilliant blue light suddenly wrapped around Cheese, and Cream quickly pointed towards the bear, creating a beam of golden light from her fingertip. Cheese flashed across the chamber, smashing into Gaia like a wrecking ball. Grunting and stumbling, the bear smashed into his own prison, crushing the far wall and allowing the sunlight to beam in. Another beam of light landed on the bear, and once again Cheese smashed into him with even more force than before. Clusters of rock had begun to chip away, revealing his real body. With each destructive hit, Cream walked forwards, pressing the bear out into the light, and eventually close to the waters edge.

"One more hit, Cheese!" she exclaimed with a smile of determination.

The field of light surrounding the small chao suddenly expanded on impact with the bear, throwing him across the lake once again. However this time the field of light around Cheese shot out into a thin, rotating beam of energy after Gaia. As the bear collided with the rock on the opposite end of the lake, the beam of light collided with bear, vaporizing the cliff and pushing the bear through a cluster of pine trees. Wood and rock shot every which way, until finally the blast spun and died out, leaving a trail of steam in its path. With a cheer, Cream hugged her chao to congratulate him, and then ran back to the crumbling rock prison to retrieve Amy.

"C'mon, Amy," Cream pleaded, dragging the rosette hedgehog to her feet. "We can get out of here now, I think that big guy is out for now!"

"Good job, Cream!" Amy smiled, earning a disgruntled chirp from Cheese. "And you too, Cheese!"

As the exhausted friends began to hurriedly move towards the Cliffside, a wall of rock shot upwards in their path. The two stumbled backwards, avoiding two huge arms reaching from the wall, followed by Gaia. He chuckled madly, his cloak completely burnt off, revealing his forest green fur. Along his chest and arms jagged, black markings moved across to his back and neck. His fur on his head dangled over his eyes, keeping them covered, while three glistening gemstones embedded in his forearms began to glow.

Once again Cheese smashed into the bear with a mighty burst of light, knocking the attacker into a rotating portal of purple light which had materialized behind him. As he fell through the rippling vortex, it spun to a close, leaving the two girls in the silence.

"Let's get out of here before ugly comes back!" Amy reasoned with a sigh.

"Grab on, I'll fly up!" Cream explained with a smile, and using her ear she began flying upwards along the Cliffside. "Keep an eye out for Mighty!"

As the duo ascended closer to the edge where the train had toppled over on, they found Mighty rested against a tree, resting his eyes. Water dripped off of every inch of his body, leaving the ground around him completely soaked. As Cream and Amy drew closer, he peered up at his teammates, and jumped to his feet, waving them down.

"Grab my hand, Mighty!" Amy exclaimed, reaching for him.

With a nod, Mighty jumped just in time to grasp the hedgehog's hand, Cream gently bouncing down from the sudden addition, but easily regained altitude and made their way to the city.

**Location: Above Capital City – 1:00 pm**

Alarms sounded across the entire city, while citizens fled the heart of the metropolis. Cars honked desperately, trying to make their way onto the freeway that led out of the bustling capital. However many times the nation built up their cities, they seemed to be torn down just as quickly. Watching with a heavy heart, Sonic grit his teeth angrily. It looked like the world was ending down there, and he couldn't do anything to help them! His gloves strained from his balled fist as he darted his eyes over to Tails.

"Yo!" he called above the powerful turbulence. "We should split up! It looks like people might need help down there fighting off those ugly monsters! We can't let them win."

With a nod of approval, Tails tossed Sonic the Chaos Emerald from the console of the plane. "Call us just in case you need help! The Chaos Emerald should lead you to the other one if its been taken already!"

Giving a thumb up to signal Tails he had heard everything, the blue blur jumped to his feet, causing the plane to sway gently. Inhaling as much air as possible, he calmed his nerves, allowing the adrenaline to pump through his body, giving him the rush he needed. As he exhaled, Sonic bounded off of the wing and began free falling through the clouds, the wind screaming past him. With the city streets expanding into view at a rapid pace, the blue hero rolled into a homing attack allowing him to bolt from the sky and onto the roof of an office building. Pebbles bounced from his impact on the cement, and then bounced once more from the sheer force of the sonic boom given off by his dash down the side of the building.

His sneakers squeaked against the glass of the building, his surroundings blurring together into a blur of color. As he bounded away from the skyscraper, a horde of the creatures he had encountered before came into view. Smirking with confidence, Sonic heaved his arm back and spread his palm open, once again forming a shifting, spinning ball of energy. A streak of sky blue light filled the air as Sonic shot towards the leader of the group, smashing the vicious attack into its chest. As a rotating, expanding sphere of light erupted from the impact, Sonic bounded upwards from the gust of wind, readying a secondary blow for the hundreds of monsters running towards him.

Had the gates of hell opened?

"Come get some!" Sonic bellowed over their cries, smashing the attack into the pavement within the horde.

A ferocious hemisphere of light shot outwards around Sonic, tearing apart and throwing the beasts. A storm of black sparks spiraled upwards from the sudden destruction of the monsters. Sonic shot from within the dispersing cloud, faced with another group, but this time a larger, more brawny beast trotted behind them. The blue blur skid to a stop, smoke spiraling up behind him from the friction of his shoes on the pavement.

"Woah," he muttered in awe at the sheer size of the new creature.

Its arms resembled hammers, as it had no fingers whatsoever. Its head curved down from a singular horn, while its face resembled a skull with two hollow, glowing purple eyes in the eyeholes. The beast bellowed, its spiked tail swaying behind as it smashed its hammer-like arms against the ground. The cement seemed to tremor and ripple as though it were water, knocking away a cluster of its smaller comrades. Acting like lightning, Sonic rolled to the right, avoiding a vicious beam of light. The beam shot upwards away from the cement, creating a trench down the street. Cars exploded from being hit in the distance, while the beast hollered and began to charge at Sonic.

Darting his green eyes over to the beast, the blue hero cringed at the sight of a large, secondary mouth within its belly, eating up the smaller pawns. However, a purple vortex spun open above a burning eighteen-wheel truck. From within the rippling portal, a cloaked figure stepped out onto the long vehicle, stretching their arms while fire danced at their feet. Recognizing this person near immediately, Sonic bolted from his spot, narrowly avoiding the behemoth's crippling hammer-arm blow. Blue wind spun outwards from Sonic as a wall of fire shot upwards from the two fighters hands colliding in a grappling motion. Sonic could see a playful smirk crawl across Gantz' face within the cloak just before he spun his arms around, throwing Sonic off of the semi. In a dazzling display of flame and acrobatics, Gantz flipped off of the truck and swept his leg downwards, striking only the head of one of his group's pawns.

"You again, eh?" Sonic called out from a couple yards away. "What's with you and your buddies attacking big, unarmed cities, pal?"

"It was bait," Gantz remarked while chuckling, and pulled his hood off. Messy, pale orange fur fluttered on his head, resembling a punkish style look. A pair of goggles fit snug against his forehead, his white tipped ears poking from behind the black goggles. However something frightened Sonic about this man; his deep, ruby eyes lacked all emotion and life. Though brilliantly colored, they seemed dead to compassion, lazy and hollow.

"What do you mean?" Sonic retorted with a frightened tone.

"You know," he replied casually, smirking and bearing his teeth. "A distraction? We knew you'd come if we attacked, and that's precisely what we did. However, this is yet another distraction! Try as you might to flee, I gotta mission. Do you want to know what it is? I'll tell you anyway! It's to keep you here."

The calm, collected voice of the man in front of Sonic slowly began to distort, laughter lacing his words. Sonic backed away from the approaching attacker, his eyes caught by the dead, ruby orbs staring into his soul. If it was a fight he wanted, then it was up to Sonic to suck up his fear and protect the city from anything! It _was _his duty after all. People depended on him.

"Well I have a mission, too," Sonic retorted, stopping in the middle of a barren four-way intersection. Above him, the swaying traffic light flashed to red. "And that's to protect anyone who needs me! It's people like _you _who give me work. And as long as there's evil, I'll be there to snuff it out!"

With peaked interest, the tanuki stopped at the line where cars would usually wait for the green light. His thick, red, orange and white tail swayed in thought. "But how do you define evil? We haven't killed anyone directly – and our lackeys simply scare everyone off. It's the panicky actions of fleeing civilians that create casualties, such as accidents and car crashes. After that, our pawns simply feed off the dead. If you call us evil, for simply vacating a metropolis, then what does that make you?"

Growing silent, Sonic found himself short of words.

"If you call yourself a hero," Gantz remarked with a snicker. "Then why are you killing, and fighting? You're no better – if not worse – than us at this point."

With a gentle breeze, the traffic light flickered over to green just as Sonic closed the distance between him and the relaxed figure in the blink of an eye. A powerful gust of wind shot upwards from the sudden movement, blowing the suspended traffic light every which way. Flames once again flickered outward, scorching Sonic's hand mid punch. The blue hero, ignoring the pain, ducked down to avoid a deadly punch. However, as the fist grazed his ears, a pillar of flame exploded around Gantz, throwing the blue hero across the pavement and into an office building down the street.

Fire suddenly shot up into the sky in vortex, as Gantz teleported in a puff of flame in front of the recovering hedgehog. Like a striking snake, Gantz snapped his arm out, grappling the hero's throat within his hand. His hollow eyes locked onto Sonic's pain ridden face as he lifted the struggling hero off the ground.

"Before all this I was a soldier," the tanuki explained, his voice echoing in the silence of the street. Debris crumbled off the cement office building, as the wind blew gently, sweeping his cloak to the side slightly. "I fought for peace, just like you do. I had a family. Friends. I eliminated threats to the free world, and got paid for it. Someone had to do the dirty work. Now, I'm no pacifist, and believe me, I'd smother the life out of you without a second glance, but I do believe the world is in ruins. You may not see it, but there's corruption. It's hiding in the darkness like a predator. We're victim to it, and it exists within the very government you strive to protect. We're the same, Sonic."

A vicious grin spread over his face, his eyes lighting up with a brief spark of life. Sonic sputtered and choked against the fire manipulators vice like grip, prying at the man's hand. "We're nothing alike! You guys are criminals!"

"But are we?" he retorted with a questioning tone. "The Chaos Emeralds don't _belong _to anyone. They're gifts to those who know how to use them. Our leader - our savior - he has big plans for this world, hedgehog. You can't even begin to comprehend them in your current state of mind. You see, we're all his followers. We're enlightened. Each of us was promised something unique, yet something alike. We'll be his chosen ones amongst the ashes of the old, as he builds up a new, perfect nation under his control."

"Sounds…boring!" Sonic sputtered, energy beginning to rotate within his hand. "I enjoy free will, pal. You have no right…to mess with … it!" Sonic struggled his hand still prying to release his throat.

"But look what free will's brought you," Gantz retorted swiftly. "You have war, terrorists and poverty."

"The world is capable of change without freaks like you!" Sonic hollered, heaving a spinning orb of energy into the tanuki's gut.

The attack rotated and expanded dangerously, sending the cloaked attacker tumbling across the pavement. Sonic dropped to the ground and immediately collapsed to his knees, heaving in air as if it were his last breaths. The blue hero gasped and held his head low, recovering. He darted his eyes across to the tanuki who had stood back up once again. His cloak fluttered in the wind, as a charred hole smoked slightly. Wiping the wound gently, Gantz examined the dried blood on his clothing, dismissing it without a second thought.

"You'll have to do much better than that," he taunted calmly, a wide grin present on his face. "However, we'll meet another day. I've done my job."

"Wait!"

Before Sonic could react, a storming burst of vicious flame detonated like a bomb. Heat, light and power shook five city blocks. As the flame rose and consumed, smoke rose up into the sky, looming over the metropolis like a foreboding sign of destruction. Buildings were ablaze, smoldering and spewing smoke. Cars had exploded from the sheer intensity of the heat that had taken place, while the cement that made up the streets steamed, the temperature below the ground rising to incredible heights as well.

As the blast died out, retreating slowly to the spot Gantz once stood, it revealed lifelessness. Crackling embers lifted into the air from the charred vegetation within the radius of the blast, while vehicles lay overturned and damaged. Windows had been smashed in, while most buildings had been set on fire. Many of the office buildings lining the streets had chunks of vehicles or entire vehicles lodged in the walls. It was starting to look like the end of the world.

**Location: The Whitehouse**

With the departure of the three, lesser figures, Shadow was left with whom he assumed to be the leader. Something felt familiar about this man, like he had met him before. Shadow prepared a gleaming Chaos Spear in his fist, readying himself for the worst. The leader let out a heavy sigh of delight, laughing quietly behind the darkness of his hood. The cloaked figure strode closer to the military super-team, kicking away the dead bodies that blocked his path in the process. The blatant disrespect this man had for the dead disgusted Shadow. Finally the cloaked figure stood still, facing the trio with a quiet confidence.

Suddenly it Shadow full force. Now he knew whom this person was.

"Galaxy Seiryu?" Shadow muttered under his breath, shocked that such a respected military power would stoop to join the ranks of petty thieves.

An insane, quiet laugh filled the tense air of the office. The President struggled against the ties that bound his hands and legs, screaming behind the tape. "I'm impressed, Shadow," Galaxy snickered. "It seems that ever since you meddled in the affairs of the Seiryu kingdom, you haven't learnt to keep your nose in your own business."

"National security is fully _my _business," Shadow barked back calmly. "And as an agent of GUN, it's my job to serve and protect!"

Vowing his allegiance to that organization made his stomach churn. Shadow regained his composure, his eyes narrowing with anger.

"Protect what, agent?" Galaxy challenged with peaked interest. He drew closer to Shadow, purple and black specs of light beginning to flutter around the royal soldier. "You know just as well as I do that your government is corrupt. Are you protecting the lies the military and the President have steadily fed the world?"

"I see you, and your lackeys, as a threat," Shadow retorted calmly, Chaos energy building around his body. "Though the government _may _be corrupt as you suggest, the nation whom it brainwashes are innocent. I made a promise to protect this planet, and I will never break that promise."

"You speak bold words, Shadow," snickered Galaxy, the specs of light pulsing and vibrating around him violently. "But do you have the power to back them up? You're planet was given an era of peace, as a chance to correct its errors. He is coming, and he will bring us salvation, Shadow."

With an uncontained laughter emanating from behind the ominous darkness of the cloak, the specs in the air expanded with such a rapid pace they exploded. The dark hedgehog grunted, and quickly summoned a barrier of Chaos Energy to protect both the vulnerable President, and his oblivious teammates. Violent, clashing waves of dark energy clashed with the dancing, shifting energy of which Shadow generated. The smoke like aura of Galaxy washed across the Chaos Energy barrier, as it swallowed up the entire office like a monster from the depths of hell. Light had been soaked up, and as everything grew still, the blackness swirled outwards in one swift, ferocious movement, the walls of the office blew apart.

Chunks of cement, marble and glass darted from the impact, raining down on the vegetation making up the central garden around the White House. Dark, smoke like energy cascaded over the sides of the building, washing over everything that was alive or had once been. Clouds swirled inwards around the sun, blotting it out in an apocalyptic darkness. Thunder cracked, shaking the foundations of the barely standing White House, as lightning flashed down to the ground. The wind roared, as rain and hail pounded the planet.

"_Armageddon isn't set in stone. As a species, we have experienced many encounters with this beast, and have prevailed through bravery and determination of survival." ~ Romulus Errago - Spagonian Philosopher, 16th Century _

**To Be Continued**


	32. Chapter 32: A Promise

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 32: A Promise**

"_Never judge a man's actions until you know his motives."_

**Location: The Whitehouse**

Violent gusts of wind smashed and pushed against all those who attempted to reach the presidential building. Mighty, Cream and Amy grunted as they ran against destructive wind, hiding behind overturned vehicles to avoid rolling debris. With his back pinned up against the underside of a taxi, Mighty sighed with annoyance and disappointment. He didn't understand why Crush would just let go of all her values and fight against him. Noticing his discouraged expression, Amy rested a hand on his shoulder, smiling warmly to reassure him everything would be okay. Mighty returned the smile, and then nodded, turning his attention to the Whitehouse.

"I think Shadow is in there," Mighty explained, noticing the intense ruby glow coming from within the uppermost office. "And by the looks of things, shit's about to go crazy!"

"What's with this horrible weather?" Cream muttered, using her large ears to shield her from the heavy downpour.

Amy looked up at the hellish storm clouds, lightning shooting across the sky. "It's like the world's ending." Cream added, while Cheese nodded frantically in agreement.

Debris suddenly shot out from the Presidents office, forcing the trio to take hiding in an overturned car. A body rolled out of the smoke, spinning violently against the asphalt before bouncing upwards and onto a small shop. Another figure flashed through the air, a screaming mass of electrical energy flickering through the sky beside the figure. Bolts of Chaos Energy danced and jumped upwards from the impact on the tiny building, missing the target by just a hair. Shadow's ruby eyes darted to his left, as he immediately tore his hand from the concrete that formed the roof of the building in order to block a violent kick coming from his left. Rings of purple and black particles splashed out from the impact, and then exploded, throwing the dark hedgehog across the street and into an overturned eighteen wheeler. The trailer of the truck shot upwards, and then tumbled across the street.

Yelling in panic, the trio evacuated their cover just before the trailer of the transport truck ripped the car apart. Shadow landed atop of the wreckage, his breathing having become heavier. A purple portal parted upwards like an eye opening in split air, allowing Galaxy to walk through.

"We're no thieves, Shadow," he begun, his voice losing its calm tone. "Pioneers is what we are. Harbingers of a golden age of retribution and harmony. Every great nation must rise through the ashes of its fallen mother." Slowly, insanity began to show through; a menacing laughter lacing his words. "We'll use the gifts granted to us by the Gods to tame this wild world, and mold it into a perfect nation!"

"Someone sounds like they have a screw loose!"

A blue whirlwind burst between Shadow and Galaxy, pushing the cat backwards in order to break up the fight. The blue hero, Sonic, stood confidently at Shadow's side, helping the Ultimate Life Form stay on his feet. Sonic clutched the Chaos Emerald in his grasp, noticing three portals opening up beside the enemy standing before him. From within the portals, three cloaked figures made their way through, each carrying a Chaos Emerald. Then, Galaxy revealed two more from within his cloak.

"We'll return for those two later," Galaxy sneered, and disappeared with his comrades. "I can assure you that."

Helping Shadow down to the ground, Sonic noticed his team mates running up to them, as well as Rouge and Omega. The clouds in the air continued to thicken, creating a dark overcast sky. Sonic couldn't help but grin somewhat at being reunited with his friends for another adventure. He was really starting to wonder if this is what their lives were destined for! After giving Amy a reassuring hug, and Mighty a pat on the shoulder, the group turned to Shadow, who had started an extraction call to GUN.

"Team Dark ready for extraction," Shadow murmured into the communicator on his wrist. "First aid care is needed down here as well. Dispatch all Medic's and get this place cleaned up before those people come again."

"Roger that," came the voice on the other end, followed by static.

Rain poured down on the heroes, each one of them taking in the cryptic events that had taken place throughout the day. Shadow moved away a chunk of rubble, followed by a destroyed taxi, preparing a landing pad suitable for the GUN helicopter. From within the swirling, dark clouds came the grey and camouflage aircraft. Slowly it began it's descent, which at the same time Shadow walked up to the blue blur sternly, holding his hand out.

"In order to prevent those...crooks, from gaining anymore leverage." Shadow gripped the Chaos Emerald in the blue hero's grasp, "I'll be taking both the Chaos Emeralds and storing them somewhere safe."

With sharp retaliation, Sonic turned his attention down to the Emerald being pulled away from his possession. His grass green eyes quickly swept upwards, and with them his fist flew against Shadow's abdomen, causing the powerful gem to clatter to the ground. The dark hedgehog staggered backwards slightly, while the other gasped in shock. Sonic bent over and grabbed the gem once more, holding it tightly in his hand to ensure it's safety.

"You and I both know that if we don't have the extra fire power, we won't stand a fighting chance!" Sonic belted, finding it hard to stand from his injuries.

Wiping his mouth free of a small amount of blood and saliva, Shadow turned a glare towards the blue hero. "You truly are juvenile," he barked back.

Before Sonic could process what had happened, an agonizing pain shot throughout his body. Shadow's fist bolted against his face, and then another flew up against his chin. The blue hero stumbled backwards and onto his rear, pain shooting through his face from the consecutive hit. A shadow loomed over his body, a swift kick smashing into his chest and effectively knocking the blue hedgehog onto his back brutally. Shadow grasped the second Chaos Emerald once more, and moved towards his group, Rouge giving him a look of concern.

"Shadow!" Amy hollered, running up to him in anger. "What do you think you're doing?"

Pulling free from her grip on his arm, Shadow continued towards the latter that had just dropped. "If any of you want to see the light of another day, stay out of my way."

Remaining quiet, both Rouge and Omega followed suit, and before long Team Dark disappeared into the air. Meanwhile, the group of bewildered heroes watched on, unsure of what to say. Sonic grunted, and stood up, a pained frown playing his features as he watched the GUN aircraft fly into the distance. With everything coming into play so quickly, Sonic began to wonder if they were ready for what was to come.

"Now what?" Mighty piped up, wiping the rain water off of his forehead. "There's not much else to do here."

Slowly GUN vehicles begun to fill the streets, aiding civilians and helping with clearing the streets. Humvee's pulled up to the Whitehouse, as floods of soldiers rushed in to ensure the safety of the President. Soon, static played through Sonic's wrist communicator, followed by Tails voice.

"Hey, are you guys okay?"

Sonic looked at the blinking dot on the radar, showing Tails draw closer. "Yeah, we're all good over here, buddy," Sonic replied quietly. "We're all a bit beat up, though. I think we need to regroup and head back until we figure something out."

"Good idea, Sonic," Tails acknowledged. "I think I've found out where they have Professor Pickle, as well!"

The Tornado burst through the heavy clouds, and descended down to retrieve the heroes. Sonic quirked a brow, noticing Knuckles absent from the passenger seat.

"Where's Knux?" Sonic commented in confusion.

"I gave him the coordinates to Professor Pickle, because if I'm correct they're also storing the Master Emerald with him. Besides, he seemed a bit desperate to do something," Tails explained, jumping out of the plane.

"Let's hurry, then!" Amy exclaimed, with an enthusiastic nod from Cream. The duo quickly jumped into the biplane, followed by Mighty on the wing.

"I'll load the coordinates to your communicator, Sonic." Tails nodded with a grin. "Knuckles should just be arriving, so we have to hurry!"

Pulling a long cord from the interface of his plane, Tails plugged the small end into the communicator wrapped around Sonic's wrist. A loading bar popped onto the small screen, as a percentage followed. Waiting only briefly, the loading process completed, and Tails resumed his place in the pilots seat, ready to go. Stretching his legs momentarily, Sonic jumped back up, and after shedding a glance to make sure the President was safe, he gave a nod showing he was ready to his brother.

"Ready when you are, pal," Sonic exclaimed. _I'm not sure how much more of a beating I can take, though. I haven't had any time to recover in the last day, and it's starting to take a toll on my body._

Shaking the thoughts from his mind, Sonic ignored the aching throughout his body. The Tornado began to hover into the air with the use of its newly acquired thrusters, and as Sonic launched off through the city streets, the Tornado followed behind in the sky. Despite the rainy conditions, Sonic could feel a victory in the cards for him and the others.

**Location: Capital Mountain Range, Outskirts of Capital City **

Five figures trudged through the deep snow, while the largest of which carried a capsule like object on his shoulder. Leading the group, an eerily quiet figure remained roughly five paces in front. Luminous red eyes watched the path ahead, as it wound through the thick evergreen trees and alongside the side of the mountain. A heavy sigh sounded from a figure following up the rear, his winding, bouncing tail starting to droop as he walked. Finally, a sigh came from the man at the back of the group.

"Are we there yet?" Hurricane groaned and stretched his arms. "Boss never said it'd be this long of a walk!"

"We've barely been walking for ten minutes, you damn primate," Athana growled from beside Gaia.

"Who let you in, anyways?" Hurricane snapped back. "Shouldn't you be in the kitchen?"

Athana twirled around angrily, at the same time throwing a fist into the monkey's face. "Say that again, why don'tcha!"

Snow kicked up from the struggling primate, his hands clutching his face in pain. After regaining his balance, Hurricane slouched over, groaning in pain from the powerful blow to his face. Blood leaked down between his gloves, as it dripped onto the white snow. Paying no attention to their quarrelling team mates, the group continued upwards, leaving Athana and Hurricane to their own. Stepping forward viciously, the young fighter gripped Hurricane by the collar of his cloak, pushing him up against a tree.

"Not so tough now, huh?" She snarled. "Since the leader isn't here for you to run to for safety, who's to say I won't just kill ya'?"

Hurricane choked against the abnormally powerful grip being demonstrated by the small girl, his legs kicking as he gasped for air. As her fingers pressed tighter around the monkey's airway, a flash of electricity split the two up, as a barrier of lightning expanded between them. Hurricane yelped as the force of the barrier snapped the tree he was against, sending him tumbling to the ground amidst the chipped lumber. Meanwhile, Athana slid backwards through the snow, her cloak ripping up slightly from the intense heat of the attack. As the light died down, Surge stood straight, casually pulling his hood back up to conceal his face.

"We're all team mates," he spoke up with a slight yawn. "So let's start acting like it, huh?"

Scoffing, Athana spun around and stomped up the pathway. "Yeah, whatever."

Shaking his head briefly, the electrical gifted lion turned around to his astonished ally. With a gentle smile, Surge stepped over a few large chunks of wood and offered the monkey a hand. Quietly, Hurricane took the help, and stood to his feet whilst brushing the debris from his cloak. The two males quickly regained their positions with the group after a brief jog, the same silence taking over once again. However, the group finally came to a stop in front of a massive wall. The clearing was roughly the size of a baseball diamond, with a few stumps scattered within. Snow fell all around them, as Gaia set down the capsule. From within, the muffled yelling of Professor Pickle sounded through the quiet air. The quiet figure bearing the luminous red eyes delivered a swift blow to the capsule, his powerful hand denting the wooden exterior.

"Now what?" Surge spoke up, taking a seat on a relatively longer stump sticking out of the ground.

"Someone's following us," the yet to be revealed figure notified, electricity dancing around his clawed hands.

From behind a cluster of toppling trees, Knuckles swallowed to ensure his heart beat remained calm. He had hoped no one would notice the branch he stepped on, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. Peering through the shrubbery, the Guardian noticed the quintuplet each turned the opposite way, with Professor Pickle in the middle. He immediately recognized Surge, however the others he hadn't seen before.

"_The big one seems to be the powerhouse," _Knuckles thought to himself. _"But the energy readings coming off of the smallest one are phenomenal! But why can't I get anything from the leader of the group?"_

"If you want to live, show yourself," the crimson eyed figure stated monotonously.

Remaining quiet, Knuckles proceeded forwards as quietly as possible. Snow fell gently to the ground around him, as he crouched past a cluster of trees which shrouded his whereabouts. If he could just land one powerful surprise attack he could free the Professor and find somewhere safe until they retreated to their base. Then, he could wait for Sonic and the others to come, and snatch the Master Emerald. His jade eyes scanned across the group once more, noticing the smaller figure turned in his direction. Immediately he caught his breath and stopped moving as she begun walking in his direction.

His heart started pounding against his chest.

A branch suddenly snapped in the opposite direction, grabbing the attention of the group, allowing him more time.

Knuckles let out his breath slowly, and resumed his trek through the trees. He definitely was not cut out for this! Snow continued to fall, coating his red fur with patches of fluffy white. Like a predator, Knuckles continued through the trees, closer and closer to the group. Fiery chaos energy had begun charging in his fists, melting the snow around him into puddles. The Guardian closed his eyes once more and took in another breath to calm his heart, then, begun his assault.

Punching his fist through the opening between two trees, Knuckles released five flaming balls of Chaos Energy. The attacks shot through the bush, striking Athana and Gaia both. The young girl quickly flipped through the air rebounded off a tree, as Gaia slid through it. With a grunt, the Guardian lunged into the open, unleashing a ferocious barrage of flaming punches into the rock solid body of the unknown figure. Metallic clanks echoed throughout the forest as a vortex of flame shot outwards from Knuckles body, pushing the remaining four figures backwards.

"Guard the hostage!" Hurricane barked, as he stumbled out of a cluster of broken trees.

Knuckles spiralled up through the air, slinging his fist upwards at the same time. His flaming namesakes struck the crimson eyed figure, shooting him up into the air. The Guardian jumped off the ground quickly, and reeled back his flaming arm, ready to deliver the final blow. A victorious smirk crawled across Knuckles' face, as his eyes met with the emotionless eyes of his target just as he smashed his fist into the figure. A field of flame spread out from the impact, launching the being through the air and into the rock wall. Another metallic clang echoed throughout the clearing, as the cloaked figure fell to the ground.

"Get rid of him before he gets to the hostage," the recovering figure spoke up viciously as he stood back up.

From the trees, Athana jumped up into the air towards the descending Knuckles, her fist drawn back and glowing with a yellow light. With a heavy grunt, the Guardian slung his arms upwards to guard his face, just as the girls fist slammed into him.

Pain like he had never felt before rippled throughout his body. His bones creaked and shook from the blow. The golden energy charged in her fist exploded outwards, launching Knuckles down into the ground. The scarlet echidna bounced off the snowy forest floor violently, and smashed into a cluster of trees. The creaking and snapping of branches echoed amidst the scurrying of footsteps as the other three figures raced to action.

"Guess I'm going to have to step it up a little bit!" Knuckles muttered, as he wiped the blood from his lip.

The echidna quickly scrambled back to his feet, as blue electricity-like energy began to sparkle around his right hand. Three quick blows shot towards his head. However, Knuckles quickly ducked below the first, and knocked away the other two kicks from Hurricane. Knuckles then thrust his fist upwards in an uppercut, knocking the monkey away, and allowing him a path towards the capsule. Thicker orbs of blue electricity spun around his hand now, as Gaia stomped into view, his arms enlarging into two thick shields of rock. Rock shot upwards as the shield connected to the ground, creating a wall of thick rock nearly ten feet high. The rock quickly began to spread around the capsule, as Knuckles raised his hand upwards as if he were throwing a spear.

"Confident are we?" Knuckles smirked.

The scarlet Guardian lunged forwards in one step, while an arrow of white electricity shot out from his palm like a javelin. A crack of thunder tore through the quiet air, as a sizzling hole opened up in the rock shield. Knuckles then roared and heaved his whole being forwards, a gigantic spear of lightning escaping his hand in a flash. Light filled the clearing, blinding everyone within it from the dazzling display of power. As the light cleared, electricity danced off the charred grass, the snow now puddles of water. Knuckles made his way to Gaia, who had now been pinned to the rock wall with a tree branch from the explosion of electricity.

"I believe you have something of mine," Knuckles spoke up calmly, smoke rising up from his charred hand.

Tears flowed down along Gaia's cheeks. White hot pain shot through his entire body as struggled against the chunk of lumber pinning him up against the wall.

"Where's the Master Emerald?"

Footsteps sounded behind Knuckles, and despite is vicious display of power, he was once again outnumbered. From within the group, Surge walked up towards the echidna, a casual smile on his face as he pulled his hood down.

"You really are desperate to get that gem back, huh?" the lion commented calmly. In the background, Gaia continued weeping from the pain, blooding dripping onto the snow. "But do you really think you stand a chance against all of us?"

Water splashed from the movement of the remaining four members, as they closed in on Knuckles. The echidna turned around to face them, undaunted by the numbers.

"If it were just me, I wouldn't stand a chance," he explained, as a shadow appeared above them all. "But lucky for me I have backup."

**Location: GUN Central HQ, United Federations**

The wind blew gently across the top of the mountain range surrounding the bustling metropolis built solely for the military. Flashing lights filled the sky from the various security mechanisms, and clangs of machinery echoed throughout the valley. If they wanted to retaliate, then so be it. He would bring the fight to them, if they so wanted. Galaxy sat quietly on a log, the grass atop the cliffs-edge swayed gently by his feet. The royal soldier held a small, glowing sphere within his hand tightly. Rings of purple and gold light radiated off of the small object, as small black sparkles fluttered upwards. Slowly the orb began to sink into his palm, the same black specs beginning to rise off his body now.

It begun now. This meant war.

Standing up from his seat, Galaxy walked to the edge of the cliff, grinning sadistically as the screams of all terrified soldiers played through his head. He could just imagined the bloodshed. The thought of the massacre gave him shivers, making it almost unbearable to stand there any longer. His index finger twitched with anticipation.

No, he had to be patient. He had to strike at the precise moment their security became weakest.

Watching like a God over creation, he calculated his exact point of entry. He'd start from the inside out. It'd be a silent kill. No.

He wanted, _needed, _to hear them scream for mercy. But he'd hold it from them, and watch them all die at his hands.

The clouds in the sky had finally cleared, causing the wind to calm down as well. Illuminating the entire valley, the silver moon hung quietly in the sky, surrounded by billions upon billions of twinkling stars. One day, those would all be unified under the King as well. He knew this because their plan was flawless. Galaxy grinned much wider now, and tightened his fists so quickly his knuckles cracked.

It was time.

Silently, he walked forwards, a portal opening up like an eye into another dimension. His tail swished left to right as he entered the gateway, his tail last to penetrate through to the swirling mass of light on the other side. As it closed, the alarms throughout the base sounded like trumpets of the angels.

Victory would be claimed tonight.

"_A nation built upon a lie can only crumble." ~ Abraham Towers – GUN Commander, 2001_

**To Be Continued**

**Authors Note~ **Sorry for the extremely long wait everyone! Leave your comments, theories and tips in a review!


	33. Chapter 33: Massacre

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 33: Massacre**

"_He who lives by darkness, becomes darkness."_

**Location: GUN Central HQ, United Federations**

Four soldiers ran through the red flashing hallway, their rifles ready for anything that came their way. Down the corridor they could hear their comrades being murdered. Their screams were horrific. One by one, they counted as a whole squad became bloodied corpses. The group of soldiers crouched down behind the scrap parts of several sentry bots, their rifles at the ready. The commanding officer took in a deep breath, the quiet click of the intruders boots bouncing off the walls. Signalling his men to move forwards to additional cover, ready to attack, Commanding Officer Garcia inhaled once again and moved to the edge of his cover. Counting down from ten, images of his wife and child flashed through his mind as tears dripped down his cheeks.

His countdown reached one, and the four soldiers popped up from behind their cover. Bullets sprayed and ricocheted off the white-titanium walls, while two of Garcia's soldiers toppled backwards. Sparing just a glance to note their causes of death, his stomach churned at the sight. Two wooden beams had severed each of their heads, leaving them decapitated. Forcing the nausea from his focus, he continued to fire off his ammunition. Finally he and the remaining soldier ducked down, just in time to avoid the flaming parts of GUN Beetles flying their way. Reloading his assault rifle, Garcia quickly unclasped a frag grenade from his vest, and pulled the pin. Signalling to his remaining soldier to beware, he tossed the grenade over the cover. He quickly ducked back down, awaiting the explosion.

Five seconds passed, and nothing came.

Then, a portal opened up in the space between the two soldiers, and from within two tendrils of black energy whipped through. Wide, brown eyes watched as the first tendril shot through his torso, pinning his body up against the wall. Across from him, his partner had already had his limbs pulled from his body which was then pulled into the portal. Saying his last goodbyes, Garcia closed his eyes, whispering his love towards his family. A flash of light surrounded him, and an agonizing burst of pain ensued.

Galaxy appeared from the portal as the tendril sucked the limbless body of Garcia through. Blood splashed across his face, his smirk gleaming in the red flash of the warning lights in the building. The royal soldier continued up towards the exit to the outside grounds of the base, where he suspected there to be an entire fleet ready to stop him.

Well, try.

"Is this the best they can do?" Galaxy asked aloud, laughing afterwards.

Six, swaying black tendrils of energy floated upwards from his back, ready to kill anything in his way. Indigo eyes scanned across the first gate, noticing the fleet of soldiers behind the many bunkers that had been set up. A devious smirk crawled across his lips, as the tendrils dispersed into a cloud of sparkling black specs of light. The luminescent lights in the large entrance gate suddenly flashed off, as glass fell to the ground. Muzzle flashes lit up through the darkness, as panicked soldiers fired their weapons in hopes to kill the cat. Bullets sailed through the air towards and around him, arms of black energy swatted at the ammunition, either catching it or knocking it away.

"Ready Dragoon rounds," one soldier shouted, and a heavy stomp of soldiers drew closer to Galaxy.

Turning his attention towards the group of six that had moved up, Galaxy outstretched his hand, commanding the storm of black specs crawling across the ground to explode upwards. Like bugs, the specs swarmed up the legs of the soldiers, eventually over taking their entire bodies. An insane laughter echoed throughout the hangar like entryway, and Galaxy clasped his hand into a tight fist, motioning for the specs of dark energy to crush his victims. Blood splattered into pools on the ground, as the waves of soldiers moved back, firing off heavier rounds.

"Having fun yet?" Galaxy shouted, dark energy spreading along the ground like water.

Suddenly the young leader shot both his hands up into the air, and spread them apart. Before him, and moving along with his actions, the storm of black specs covered the troops and smashed them against the wall. Screams of pain and fear echoed throughout the room, as guns dropped to the ground. Galaxy simply laughed as he asserted pressure to the bodies on the walls, crushing them down to a molecular level. Blood splashed along the white walls, as he walked down the centre and up to the gate.

On the outside he could hear tanks and heavily armoured vehicles being mobilized, as well as more of GUN's powerful sentry robots. Galaxy smirked viciously and walked forwards, his body phasing through the thick, titanium blast gate as a portal of violet opened up on the other side, allowing him to walk through.

"Target spotted," a soldier within a heavily armoured tank informed through the com system. "Engaging target now!"

Galaxy turned his attention towards the group of five tanks, each locking their cannons onto him. His smirk grew, and as the explosive ammunition erupted around him, the royal soldier jumped through the destruction. His cloak fluttered from the chaos surrounding him, and while he neared the first tank, a gigantic pillar of swarming dark particles erupted beneath it. The vehicle of war launched upwards, and Galaxy heaved his arm upwards, a spiralling, black hammer materializing off his fist. The hammer grew to the double the size of his target, and with a swift downwards motion, Galaxy brought the mallet down on the vehicle, crushing it into the ground. Fire and smoke erupted upwards from the impact, causing the hammer to disperse in a storm of particles once again.

Performing a series of flips, Galaxy jumped in between many of the attacking sentry robots, easily destroying them with single punches. His laughter grew more frequent, and as a fleet of Big Foot mechs marched towards the battle, the criminal leader howled out in laughter, as he swung his arms upwards. Waves of dark particles rippled in a circle, his body the epicentre. The waves grew more violent, until finally the particles washed across everything around him, allowing him to crush the troops like he did within the base. Blood stained the cement and dirt like dye, as parts of human and robotic bodies lay strewn across the battlefield.

Turning his attention towards the central tower, Galaxy could see the faint flare of crimson emanating from the fifth storey balcony, and he suspected Shadow had come out to play. A wide, fanged grinned spread across his face, and Galaxy lunged forwards through a portal. As he exited through the other side, the royal soldier spun around as he ducked beneath an energy sword wielding mech. The blade sliced through the ground, creating a line of flame and smouldering rock. Galaxy quickly cartwheeled out of the spin, and jumped into the air, unleashing a shock wave of dark energy from his body. As the burst of energy impacted the mech, its joints sparked, and it crumbled to the ground, the force of the blow flattening it under a layer of black particles.

Quickly twirling around as he touched ground once more, Galaxy grinned upwards at the stoic hedgehog. "I never break my promises, Shadow," he called out, laughing afterwards. "You're so convinced of the strength of the military, but look at it now? Nothing more than a few red stains and flaming parts of metal! Now why don't you surrender the Emeralds before you get hurt."

"Those Emeralds aren't of your concern," the dark hero replied casually. "Now if you don't give yourself up, I'll be forced to play rough."

"Is that a threat?" Galaxy retorted playfully, snickering as well. "Do you really think I'm afraid of you, Shadow?"

Remaining absolute and quiet, Shadow unfolded his arms. He moved his arms from a folded position, crimson and violet energy spun off his quills like fire. His eyes had begun to glow, and as the Green Chaos Emerald materialized in his hand, he disappeared in a flash of white light.

Galaxy smirked and threw his arms up to defend himself from Shadow, whom reappeared a split second later, his hand grappling around the cat's throat. Another flash of light whisked the two away, and in the distance a brilliant, crimson explosion tore apart the mountainside. From anyone looking on from the base, the blast seemed to be about the size of the moon if looking at it from the earth, but once close up, it was easily four hundred yards across. Chaos energy spun and churned, tearing apart at the rock and vegetation along the valley, with Galaxy and Shadow inside.

"Chaos..." Shadow growled, the red dome growing brighter. "Blast!"

With his final roar, the dome expanded wider, until finally collapsing into a powerful nuclear explosion. Chaos energy ripped apart a gaping hole in the side of the mountain and along the ground, as steam rose upwards from the sheer heat of the attack. The light suddenly died out, and the world became quiet from the rumbling explosion.

Standing quietly in the centre of the gigantic mark of destruction, Shadow watched the twitching body of Galaxy in front of him. The royal cat lay on the ground, arms and legs scorched off, bone and flesh sticking out from the wounds. Cries of agony echoed throughout the valley, and Shadow knew now victory was his.

However, a sickening laughter howled all around him, the body laying on the ground sinking into the dirt into a mound of black and purple particles. Shadow grunted in surprise, quickly regaining his composure just as Galaxy materialized out of the ground, a compact sphere of dark energy clutched in his palm. With a shrill scream of joy, Galaxy thrust the orb into Shadow, which in turn unleashed a vicious beam of purple light no thicker than a pop can.

The beam tore through the rocky and mountainous terrain, carrying Shadow with it. Finally it expanded outwards, just as the attack collided with the central tower of the base. The beam quickly dispersed, leaving Shadow in a crater embedded in the side of the building, but Galaxy hadn't let up quite yet. The moment the beam died out, the cat had materialized in front of Shadow, his right hand gripped around the hedgehogs throat, while another deadly sphere of black energy spun to life in his free hand. With widened eyes of delight, Galaxy cackled and thrust the orb down into Shadow. This time however, the orb simply exploded outwards in a shock-wave, levelling out the entire ten storey tower. A cloud of debris and rubble shot outwards in all directions, shrouding the base in a storm of smoke and dust.

Wind sailed across the devastated metropolis, slowly pushing the cloud of debris to the valley. Shadow lay in a small crater where the central tower once stood, a titanium chest laying half visible through the rubble. Galaxy clawed his way free from beneath a pile of boards and cement. Blood dripped from the numerous wounds across his chest and face, but he paid no mind to them. The dark cat stumbled through the wreckage towards the chest, and smashed it open. From within it, the Chaos Emerald rolled along the ground briefly before Galaxy claimed it as his.

Shadow stirred, his body feeling dead from the last attack. He groaned heavily, and clutched his chest. He had never felt this degree of pain before. Blood seeped past his fingers, and clotted his white chest fur. Despite his heavy injury, Shadow had a duty to carry through with. The dark hedgehog forced himself to his feet, dancing bolts of golden Chaos Energy appearing around his hand as he stumbled towards the oblivious Galaxy.

"Finally, I've won!" Galaxy shouted to the heavens, clutching the second Emerald as well. "No one on this planet can stop me now!"

Grunting and limping through the wreckage, Shadow raised his hand up towards Galaxy, the dancing energy intensifying and moving down to his hand.

"This marks the age of a new world!" Galaxy declared, his tail swaying in delight.

A flash of white light covered Shadow, and in the blink of an eye, his hand had shot through Galaxy's abdomen. Indigo eyes widened in disbelief and pain, as blood spilled onto the cement and dirt. Golden Chaos Energy danced across Shadow's arm briefly, until finally he ripped free of the intruder. Shadow stumbled briefly, and then toppled backgrounds onto the ground, losing consciousness. Galaxy staggered, pain ripping through his body like a knife.

He really had underestimated that one.

No matter. With the Emeralds in his possession, it was time to move onto the second part of Phase 1.

Galaxy spat up a mouthful of blood and saliva, and stumbled into a portal after one last glance at the hedgehog on the ground. Blood continued to drip in small puddles, until finally the cat disappeared, moments before reinforcements arrived at the obliterated base.

**Location: Capital Mountain Range, Outside Capital City**

From the sky, Tails descended down into the clearing with the Tornado transformed into its walker mode. Beside him, Amy, Cream and Mighty dropped down into the fight as well. Then, a brisk whirlwind spun throughout the trees. The wind picked up gradually, until finally Sonic appeared, Professor Pickle in hand as well. The blue warrior quickly jumped onto the Tornado, buckling the shocked Professor in, and resumed his position beside Knuckles.

"Nice to see you, Tails!" Pickle exclaimed in delight. "You wouldn't believe the treatment those hooligans had for me."

"Don't worry, Professor," Tails called out with a smile. "We'll get you back to the Workshop right away!"

"Go on ahead, bro," Sonic reassured with a thumbs up. "Knux and I will clean up here, then get the Master Emerald!"

"But, Sonic we came to help!" Amy piped up angrily.

Turning his attention towards Amy with a warm smile, Sonic winked playfully. "We got this. You three make sure Tails gets the Professor back to the Workship in one piece, alright?"

Sighing, Amy gave a forced nod and together with Cream and Mighty resumed her spot on the Tornado as it flew off into the sky. The group of the cloaked figures watched as their hostage escaped, but paid no mind to it. From within the group, Surge stepped forwards, clapping.

"I see you've taken our bait," he remarked, just as two portals opened up behind Sonic and Knuckles.

From within the swirling portals two tendrils of energy slung around their bodies, and tugged them backwards. The portals quickly swirled inwards, swallowing the two heroes up, also allowing the five cloaked figures to disappear in the same portals.

**Location: Unknown**

Darkness surrounded them whichever way they looked. Each of them fought against the tight restraints binding their bodies to the wall. Everything was painfully quiet, and there was nothing around them providing any hopes of escape. The duo sighed in unison, each giving up with their struggles to free themselves of their bound arms and legs. They had been in this chamber, or what they guessed to be, for only God knew how long. Sonic had lost track of time long ago, but it felt like just moments ago since they were pulled into that strange gateway. He could hear Knuckles grunting and snorts of anger beside him, but tried to pay no attention to it. Wherever they were, they weren't getting out anytime soon. Or that's what he felt anyway. The blue hero sighed, and shut his eyes, finding it pointless to have them open when he couldn't see anything regardless. But then a faint light caught his attention in the distance, and judging from the echo of the footsteps, Sonic guessed they were in a cave or prison of some sort. His ear twitched at the sound of water dripping onto the rock floor, creating an echo along with the footsteps.

He attempted to talk, but nothing came out. What was going on?

The breathing of which he assumed to be Knuckles shifted in front of him, and suddenly two purple orbs of vision appeared in the dark. Startled, the blue hero jumped against the restraints.

He recognized those eyes.

Two, faintly glowing horns formed slightly above and beside the two eyes, and from then on Sonic knew where he was. Sort of. He didn't quite know _where _he was, but he had been here before. The blue hero struggled against the bindings on his wrists, as the heavy breathing turned to laughter. The horn sliced through the surface behind Sonic's head, making him wonder whether this beast was very powerful, or the surface behind him was very fragile. He guessed it was the first option, much to his displeasure.

The beast laughed once more, two hands gripping his shoulders like a vicegrip.

"It's been a long time, Sonic," the beast remarked quietly. "Remember me?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. It's hard to forget an ugly thing such as yourself," Sonic quipped, earning a snarl of annoyance.

"Cocky as usual, I see," it noted. "Why do you insist on locking me away? Tell me, do you really believe you can win alone?"

"I do, actually," Sonic snorted. "I've been learning to rely more on my own abilities since you killed Eggman, and I've come a long way. But what makes me curious, is why you've come back?"

The beast snickered deviously, its voice echoing in the cavern. "Because I felt that familiar presence."

"What?"

"Of Polaris, it awakened me last time," it recalled, chuckling gently. "I wasn't sure if someone had awakened that ugly bastard again, or if I was being fooled."

"Well, in case you didn't know, ol' bird brains got fried on the sun." Sonic smirked.

"You know nothing, boy," the beast snarled, grasping Sonic's throat tightly. "I can feel that presence grow, and grow. In time I'll awaken in you again, but no longer will I be defiled by you."

* * *

Then, everything flashed a brilliant gold, and Sonic's vision turned to white. His senses became numb, and the world faded to a dull grey. All around him, torches briefly lit up a small cavern. Water dripped from the ceiling, and beside him Knuckles had taken it upon himself to try and wake the blue hedgehog by shaking him. Slowly he came to his senses, and the blue hero groaned, shaking his head. The blue blur sat up, rubbing his forehead.

"What happened back there?" he groaned in confusion.

"I'm not sure, Sonic," Knuckles explained, turning his attention to the opening in the cave. "But we should get moving. Something tells me we shouldn't spend too much time in here."

"_An age of war can be used to create peace, assuming the right circumstances have taken place. A leader controls the outcome, be it through bloodshed or love." ~ Xander Voltaire – Coruscus Movement Follower, 2008_

**To Be Continued**


	34. Chapter 34: Crusades, Part 1

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 34: Crusades, Part 1**

"_To understand is to transform what is."_

**Location: GUN Central HQ, United Federations**

Morning had finally come, but the sun hadn't arrived with the new day. Rain poured across the landscape, washing away all the blood that had been shed on the ground outside. The fires that burnt throughout the night were finally extinguished, allowing for the dark, thick smoke to plume up into the cloudy sky. Thunder cracked in the sky, echoing throughout the valley while lightning flashed across the clouds. Amidst the rubble of the previous central command tower, Shadow groaned and weakly moved his arm to wipe the mixed water and blood from his face. Squinting his eyes, Shadow moved his hand to block out the rain falling over him, allowing his eyesight to adjust. In the distance, he could hear voices. A few were familiar to him, but at this point he couldn't even make sense of where he was. Recounting everything over in his mind, the pain in his body finally set back in. However, paying no mind to it, the dark hedgehog pushed himself up, sitting with his head buried in his hands.

Soon the pain faded to the back of his mind, as he focused his attention on the destruction around him. Weak, crimson eyes scanned the base, taking count of all the dead bodies poking out through the rubble of the gigantic tower that had fallen. His stomach churned, forcing him to vomit to his left. The dark hero groaned from the pain rushing throughout his body. However, despite the reluctance from his injured body, Shadow staggered to his feet, which in turn caught the attention of the group of GUN agents in the distance. Despite his foggy mind, he was able to pick out a few faces in the group making their way towards him, in turn preparing himself.

"Shadow," a welcome voice called out within the cluster of people. "Shadow! Are you alright?"

He noticed Rouge's worried expression, and nodded gently. "However, I can't say the same for the rest of the base."

Noticing Shrike, the dark hedgehog quickly regained his posture in order to look presentable. However, the Commander waved his hand and shook his head. "At ease, Agent," he ensured. "We've taken a heavy hit to our military stability last night, as you may know. After the intruder left here, we received word from the Northern Outpost that they had been attacked at the same time, as well as the Southern HQ."

Forcing himself to stay awake despite the urging need to pass out, Shadow processed the information. With a stern, and frightened look, Shrike turned his attention to the sheer destruction of the headquarters, his mouth twitching in disgust.

"Shadow, what happened here?" Rouge asked quietly, supporting the dark hedgehog. Around them, medically trained GUN agents swarmed around, trying to pick out any survivors.

"Galaxy took the Chaos Emeralds we had stored here," Shadow replied, and moved his hand to hold his dislocated shoulder. "However, causalities only reach ten percent, excluding our weaponry and armoured vehicles. If we are to have any chance at stopping this man, we can't take any more chances, Commander."

Listening intently to what his soldier had to say, Shrike nodded briefly. "I've already sent out word to the remaining outposts and bases to deploy soldiers to the Empire City HQ. From there we need to debrief any information, so we can educate our troops. It's sad to see Galaxy go down this path; I'm sure his family is disappointed."

"I don't think they know he's still alive," Shadow explained, following Rouge and Shrike to the medical tents that had been set up. "During the last attack from Doctor Eggman five years ago, he abducted several very important people in the political world; Galaxy being one of them. I've been doing my research, and quite frankly Commander, whatever group Galaxy is leading, are composed of combat heavyweights."

The nurse frantically sat Shadow down, as she begun going through procedure to ensure his well being. Throwing an annoyed glance at the GUN nurse, Shadow hesitantly complied to her instructions whilst trying to retain his conversation with Shrike.

"I'm sure you remember Gantz Valentine?" asked Shadow, wincing from the pressure being applied to his dislocated shoulder.

"He was apart of the Apotos Spec Ops, wasn't he?" Rouge asked, earning a nod from Shadow. "But wasn't he working under GUN?"

"For a short time, but he declined a continuous contract with us," Shrike filled in. "Shadow, I want you to meet with Voxili's government, and inform them of Galaxy. We need to pull together as many allied troops as possible in order to secure our nation."

"He's working with Galaxy, along with the girl GUN had taken into holding," Shadow revealed. "I didn't pay much attention to it at first, but after seeing them all together, it only made sense. Eggman had them all aboard the Death Egg when I was up there, and he was doing something with them, too."

"Then we should focus on them and exterminate them!" The Commander shouted, slamming a fist against the supply table.

"We aren't their primary target, Commander," Shadow stated. "They're not after control, I can tell you that much. If they were, they would have killed both you and the President on New Years when this all started. They want something else, and the longer we're oblivious to what they're after, the further we'll get from victory."

"What do you suggest we do, Agent?" retorted Shrike with a scowl, earning a weary look from Rouge. "We're at our wits end! Our soldiers are up to their ears with cleaning up the dead, and the helping with clean up across the west coast, we can't attack them!"

"We need to take a hostage," Shadow replied as the nurse finished wrapping the bandages across his arm and chest. "We can get information from one of them if we can lure them in. Galaxy is after power, but he also doesn't get his hands dirty unless it's something personal. Right now he's in control of all seven Chaos Emeralds, as well as the Master Emerald. But if we can pull them in with something else that could be strategically beneficial to him, we could gain the upper hand."

"So what's the plan, Hun?" Rouge asked inquisitively.

"Offer me in exchange for time to recover," he explained, earning bewildered expressions from everyone around him. By this point, agents and nurses had stopped to listen to the conversation in order to gain insight on what was going on. "He's bound to send one of his lackeys to ensure safe transport."

"You can't offer yourself up, Shadow!" Rouge shouted out. "If you're actually taken, it could threaten the safety of our entire nation. They know how useful you are to us as a military, and what if they have some means to control you?"

The dark hedgehog stood up, his eyes focused ahead in thought. "It's only a trap. We'll deploy the Spec Ops force to ensure my safety. If they try anything that could compromise our mission, you lead them in, Rouge."

Remaining silent, the Commander signalled for the lingering agents and nurses to leave them be. Shrike took a seat on the cot Shadow previously occupied and clasped his hands in an arc over his face, staring ahead in contemplation.

"And what if you do get taken? Shrike asked. "We can't allow your failure to ruin our chances of survival. And the way I see it, this has become an all out war. Their actions have become inexcusable, and if by any chance you become a danger to my nations safety, I will not issue a rescue mission to get you back."

Showing he understood the consequences of any possible failure, Shadow nodded. With a frantic look at her ally, Rouge could only support him at this point, despite every cell in her being wanting to figure out another plan. Without so much as another word, Shadow departed from the tent and called over a pilot lounging around to his side. After a few brief nods, the pilot disappeared once again. However minutes later, the roar of a helicopter overcame the gentle noise of the falling rain.

"I want you to keep a close eye on him, Rouge." Shrike instructed grimly. "He's up to something, I know I can trust you to shut things down if need be."

However, could she really bring herself to betray Shadow?

Rouge nodded hesitantly, hoping her doubts weren't showing through to her Commander. After saluting to her leader, Rouge ran off to the helicopter which had landed, and took a seat beside her ally and friend. Glancing at the crimson washed hedgehog briefly, she could only wonder what he was actually planning.

The minutes that had passed to ensure proper take off precautions felt like seconds to Rouge, and before long, they were soaring over the mountain tops and towards Empire City to form the team needed for Shadow's plan.

**Location: Unknown**

Pounding and throbbing, Sonic's head felt like it was about to erupt. He could hardly see straight, and yet, the task at hand demanded him to walk into whatever unknown before him. Knuckles trudged on behind him tiredly, each of their previous wounds slowing them down heavily. Letting out a long, exhausted sigh, Sonic leaned against the wet, limestone wall to his left. Blood seeped out of the wounds marking up his torso, staining his white glove that rested on them. Though dark, Knuckles noticed his comrades condition, and stopped beside Sonic with his arms folded. Noticing the heavy breathing of the crimson echidna, Sonic sighed once more, shutting his eyes and leaning his head back against the cold surface.

"How long have we been walking, Knux?"

"About an hour now," replied the tired echidna, resting his wide hand on the wall to lean on.

With a heavy sigh from each hero, they continued onwards. "Hopefully we find a way out of here soon," Sonic groaned. "I'm hungry!"

Groaning at the sound of the heavy rumble from the blue blur's stomach, Knuckles continued on past Sonic. Adjusting his eyes to the ever growing darkness, Knuckles could tell they were starting to go upwards. Though, he found it strange it was getting darker, rather than brighter. The echidna grumbled to himself, and moved faster, hearing the sounds of water. The duo rushed down the winding path as fast as their wounds would allow them. Soon, a glowing entry way popped into view, and it was only a matter of time before they were back above ground.

A smirk found its way on their faces as they burst into the light.

The sound of rushing water roared, and then their smiles disappeared instantly.

"Another cave?" Sonic shouted, his voice bouncing off the walls, creating an echo.

"Seems that way..." Knuckles groaned, watching the water plummet from the cliff into the small body of water in front of them.

They each sighed, and walked closer to the pond, noticing the gigantic oak tree growing from beneath the depths of the water. Strange as it may be, Sonic noticed how the tree flourished as though it were growing outside. It's thick, full foliage dripped moisture, and the wind created from the crashing water behind it rustled the branches slightly. Knuckles stood at the edge of the spring, gazing at the tree thoughtfully.

"Maybe the water is coming from the outside," Knuckles reasoned. "If we could just make it up there, we could maybe swim -"

"No way!" Sonic shrieked in horror. "This guy doesn't swim, and you should know that better than anyone!"

Agitated, Knuckles spun around in retaliation. "Well do you wanna get out of here or not?"

"I'll find my own way out," Sonic retorted. "Then we can just meet at the top!"

"Who knows where all these paths lead!" the echidna barked, and stomped towards Sonic. "If we don't get out of here soon, there's no telling how long it'll be before we find food!"

"Figures you'd be thinking about food..." Sonic mocked under his breath.

"What'd you say?" Knuckles howled, raising a fist in anger.

Hearing an amused chuckle come from behind them, the quarrelling duo shot their attention to the person in the cavern with them. His cloak was identical to the others they had been meeting, however this one had no sleeves, and also lacked a hood. The man, who Sonic identified to be a jackal, appeared to be slightly taller than them. His fur was a mixture of white, black and blue, Sonic noticed, as well as his piercing yellow eyes. The fur atop the jackal's head had been spiked up lazily, as some chunks of it drooped down in the front.

"You two are supposed to be on the same team?" he mused, and walked towards them. "Sure don't look like it..."

"Who are you?" Sonic demanded.

"My name isn't important right now," he replied, with a smile. "We'll meet again another time. I was only here surveying how you work as a team, because you'll sure as hell need the skill. Might I suggest a tip?"

"Are you one of them?" Knuckles barked, his temper rising.

With a quirked brow, the jackal stroked his chin thoughtfully. "_Them?_" He repeated dumbly. "Oh! You mean Dusk?"

"Dusk?"

Pointing his finger upwards in revelation, the jackal laughed warmly. "Sorry, I don't think Galaxy has revealed our name to you yet!" He chuckled, and threw his arms up to stretch. "But, yeah, I am apart of _them_, or otherwise, Dusk."

"Just what are you all after? I suppose you're gonna talk about some king now, too?" Sonic snorted, glaring at the newcomer.

Laughing in reply, the bubbly jackal shook his head, wiping the underside of his eye with his finger. "Heavens no," he responded with a joyful sigh. "Our leader isn't some God to be worshipped; although he is a good leader! As for what we're after, well, that depends."

"On what?" Knuckles retorted quickly.

"Someone's grumpy," the jackal remarked, blinking in shock. "Anyway, it depends on which part of us you mean? We're all essentially after different things to ensure our goal comes through. Unfortunately, I'm not at liberty to unveil our plans to you guys..forgive me?" He concluded with an unsure frown.

"Though, I should warn you," he continued with a more serious tone. It seemed very unfitting for his personality to Sonic. "Try and work on your team work, yeah? Be grateful for your companions! Anyway, I gotta get going. Things to do, prophecies to fulfil. You know, the boring stuff!"

With a powerful leap, the jackal soared through the air over the heroes, and into the tunnel that which the water came from. Sonic and Knuckles turned to each other with a bewildered expression, each of them unable to make out exactly what he was talking about.

"He sure seemed different than the others," Sonic pondered. "Maybe these guys are just the nutcases?"

"That must mean there's more of them, then," Knuckles grumbled. "That's just our luck!"

Then the room rumbled, causing rocks to fall from the ceiling and to the ground in a vicious horde of debris. Both Sonic and Knuckles darted their attention to the tree that had started swaying much more violently, finding a bright light shining from within it's trunk. Watching closely as the light grew, Sonic noticed a small orb floating from within the mighty oak, causing the entire tree to start dying at a rapid pace. It's leaves wilted, and fell to the ground in brown heaps. The bark of the tree seemed to age, becoming a deathly grey. Slowly the small orb hovered over the spring, the water receding into the ground, as the mighty water fall ceased.

Silence overcame the cavern, leaving only the gentle hum of the floating orb.

They took two steps backwards as the orb began hovering of the rock floor, kicking up dust.

Each of them became deeply entranced with the beauty of the orb. Digital looking lime green lines darted around the small area of the sphere, while it shifted from a dazzling gold to a haunting black colour. Green and gold sparkles fluttered into the air from its exterior, giving it a dazzling appearance.

"Should we go grab it?" Knuckles mumbled in awe.

Sonic, however, simply shrugged. But their answer was made for them, as suddenly the rock beneath the sphere broke apart violently. Slabs of rock jutted upwards from the sudden release of power. The pulses of light became much more rapid, and then vines launched from the ground. They seemed to wrap around an invisible figure. First, they encased two mighty legs, covering up the golden armour as it became visible. Slithering up the muscular body of the beast, golden armour became encased in thick vegetation, wrapping around a huge horse-like body.

Then, the remaining pieces of armour flashed to life, making the rest of the beast visible. It appeared to be a centaur, however it's "human" half was composed of black and gold plate armour, and it's head seemed to be that of an eagle mixed with a lion, also wrapped in gold armour. Two, piercing green eyes flashed to existence behind the armour plated skull of the beast, as it screeched. Two pairs of vine covered arms popped out of the side of its "human" half with a sickening _squish _sound. Its hands were tipped with black claws, and then it's tail appeared. It shone with a lime green glow, and then multiplied into six others, each tipped with a set of black dagger-sharp spines on either side.

Unleashing another beastly roar, the monster smashed down it's vine covered "horse" legs, breaking apart the earth as its tails lashed about.

"You just had to jinx our luck, eh Knucklehead?"

**Location: Capital City**

Walking solemnly through the wreckage, the Chaotix were horrified at the sheer destruction of the city. To them, it felt surreal. Gaping wide eyed at the broken down buildings, overturned vehicles and the occasional dead body, Charmy remained unusually quiet. After the three had opted to stay behind after dropping Knuckles off, they had been searching the city for any clues to whatever it was that was motivating the criminals they had met.

"I wonder what happened here," Espio wondered out loud. "Do you think they killed everyone?"

Gulping at the very thought, Vector looked around. "It sure seems like it. Maybe GUN evacuated everyone?"

"It's scary..." Charmy whimpered, cowering behind Vector as they walked through the heavy rain.

However in the distance, the vague outline of someone walking slowly crept through the storm. At the first sight of the white cloak they've all grown to despise, the Chaotix halted abruptly and prepared for a fight. Whoever this was, they knew they were bringing trouble. Watching patiently as the figure inched closer, Espio noticed the differences in this cloak, as it had no sleeves or hood. The tension throughout the team seemed to die down, and the closer the man got, the more curious the group became.

"Yo," he called out amidst the roaring wind and thunder. "Some weather, huh?"

With a puzzled expression, Charmy hovered in between his team mates to get a good look at the man in front of them. His wet, bluish black hair seemed like the dark night sky with the specs of white acting like the stars. Calm, yet striking, yellow eyes stared at them warmly, but Espio couldn't help but feel something more behind them. Holding up his arms in a feeble attempt to guard himself from the rain, the jackal grinned sheepishly.

"Guess an umbrella woulda been useful, eh?" He laughed, scanning over the trio. "What brings you three to Capital? Didn't you hear about the recent attack?"

After glancing at one another, Vector finally spoke up, stumbling over his words in the process. "Y- yeah," he stammered. "We're the Chaotix! I'm sure you've heard of us? World class investigators?"

"Heh, _world class_..." Espio mumbled to the side.

Vector glared at Espio harshly, earning an indifferent shrug from his companion. Noticing the strange behaviour between the two, the jackal chuckled to himself, amused by their banter.

"We're investigating the attack, seeing if that group of criminals left behind any clues," Vector added confidently as he pushed out his chest.

"Yeah! Clues! We're like CSI!" Charmy chirped happily.

"Interesting," the mystery man responded with an attentive gaze. "I did find a strange crater down the street. Perhaps you'd wanna check it out?"

Beckoning with his thumb back down the way he had come, the jackal flashed a smile. "Cheers."

Once adjusting the large collar around his neck to guard him from the cold, the man continued walking. A upbeat whistle hovering through the pounding rain trailed after the man, becoming more faint the further he became. The Chaotix exchanged glances of uncertainty towards another, but then turned their attention back towards the spot their assumed comrade pointed them to. However, in the distance, a dimly glowing light seemed to hover in the air amidst the rain. Faint pulses of gold and blue light dancing in the air around a solid mass of blue, gold and white.

They stared in reverence at the orb, unaware of the intensifying rain. Finally, the orb wavered in the air, and a blast of water like blue and gold sparkles erupted from the sphere. The wave of sparkles shifted and spun around like a floating mass of water, slowly molding into the faint outline of a creature. At first, it remained small, but the trio quickly realized that was only a part of whatever was being created, as the wave of energy shot upwards nearly ten feet. The rain seemed to crash around them, flooding the street in the process. Each of the Chaotix grunted distraughtly at the power of the wind howling against them. However, as a crack of thunder shook the buildings, a vile, booming screeching roar overtook the many other sounds present.

Shivers shot down their spines, as the ground shook from this creatures very step. Vector gulped, staring at the malicious, glowing gold eyes fixated on him.

"_We've seen genocide. Created atomic weapons capable of vaporizing whole cities. We've killed, fought, and beaten. But, I ask you this, when is the time of love?" ~ Evelyn Vilesot, Project Shadow Test Subject 005, 1931_

**To be Continued**

**Authors Note ~ **Below, I hope you enjoy a preview from the joint series my partner and I are working on! I give you; ASCENSION. Enjoy!

* * *

"**Wars are fought by young, and won by men"**

May 19th, 2008

_In today's news, War Criminal and Mastermind Doctor Robotnik, referred by many as Doctor Eggman has been captured. Occuring in Station Square where he was found beside a destroyed biomechanical suit shouting obscenities to a Hedgehog humanoid referred to as "Sonic the Hedgehog." Sonic the Hedgehog is a vigilante, still on the run. While some call for his capture, a general sentiment clamours for his freedom._

December 20th 2008

_In other news, Doctor Robotnik, largely referred to as, Doctor Eggman, has disappeared. He was last seen several months ago being captured by GUN. GUN General, Abraham Towers, has said that while his best team is searching the globe for Doctor Robotnik, there is significant intel that confirms his death._

_April 4__th__ 2009_

_Amidst the economic collapse of United Federations, countries of the world have agreed to a worldwide forum meeting next year in Capital City to discuss issues such as a growing sentiment against athromorph humnoids, or as the public deemed them "Talkin' creatures"._

_April 19__th__ 2010_

_Breaking news today, a riot has erupted at the first ever worldwide forum where the ten nations convened to discuss current events. Riots include civil distrust of anthromorph humanoid representatives, economic disparity and a call for mass emigration of "Talkin' creatures"._

_May 7__th__ 2010_

_Video footage has been shown all over the world of the a public assassination of the head of the Royal Family, Mak-tul of Shamar. Shamar has seen civil unrest for the past year clamouring for Mak-Tul to step down from his royal position. This escalated into a civil war between the government and a splinter group of an international terrorist group called "Human Superiority Movement"._

**May 7****th**** 2010 12:00 AM**

A white glow blinded his eyes, just beginning to get used to the burning streetlights. He was barely conscious and breathing heavily; he seemed to be in shock. Mak-Tul looked around and noticed soldiers everywhere in sand colored camouflage holding rifles. One of them had stepped on his prized garden. A pang of sadness flowed through him, seeing his pet peacocks lying dead. A car was waiting for him, and he had no idea where he was going to be taken. He looked down at his six thousand dollar shirt splattered with blood, wondering if they could be cleaned after his inevitable execution.

Sowly understanding where he stood, the shock was wearing off and he remembered soldiers coming in and killing his guards, some of whom, even turning against him. They had raped and killed his family before everything went dark. The soldiers dragged him toward his own limo, now driven by one of the soldiers and beside him was the son of the Human Superiority Movement leader. A voice on the radio rang out—he recognized the voice, it was the soon to be leader- Harun-Al Rafia

_We trusted this leader to bring us into a new age of prosperity. Instead, he colludes with the vile western powers and their disgusting creatures! It is time for us to rise up. It is time for the chosen people of this species to rise up and destroy this threat before it consumes us!"_

The door opened and he was shoved into the backseat, being taken to the middle of the royal city. As they drove he witnessed mass executions of feral beasts he wanted to protect. His mind was elsewhere, while his heart was stuck at the loss of life. Anxiety and acceptance had overcome him, each fighting for control.

It was then they had reached the point of his execution. He was dragged out of his car, at gunpoint and tied to a post in front of Harun. His mind was going through everything from birth to death. The fate of the world was no longer a burden as his mind was almost free of every responsibility it had ever took on. Harun walked over to a smiling king and pointed a modified Desert Eagle and pressed it against his forehead. The mind raced quickly as anxiety took over. A shot was heard for a second.

Then, silence.

**1 YEAR LATER**

Artilly and weapons of war filled a black and white field, as it finally came into view. The small hum of rocket fuel and an occasional beep were all the sounds that filled an otherwise silent missile. Though it was controlled wirelessly, by a human, it was nonetheless creepily quiet. It was as though it knew that, in a few seconds, its life's purpose was going to be fulfilled. It changed its trajectory as the nose pointed downwards and descended on what seemed to be a satellite dish.

A red marker outlined the disk, he anti-artillery guns quickly responding, bullets showering the missile. Though, not all of them hit it, eventually some did. Yet to the human behind it, and perhaps the missile itself; the bullets mattered little. The weapon had made contact with the satellite dish and a giant explosion that was almost symbolic of the missile's achievement levelled everything in the area. Eventually, men of war had scattered the destroyed field of broken AA guns and ran towards the enemy; some of them had failed as bullets riddled their bodies, others were lucky enough to do their part in the war.

A helicopter descended onto the ground—crushing the charred skeleton on which the vehicle landed. Out came a squadron of soldiers donning a white and blue jumpsuit except one. A black and crimson furred hedgehog that held an assault rifle several times bigger than his squad mates. While they were covered head to toe, the hedgehog was not, simple donning a red and blue jumpsuit with no body armor or a helmet.

"Shadow, we need you to go down to the control room, find as much intel as you can! Then disable the remaining AA's and jam the radio signal so that the eye in the sky can spot it, confirm?"

Shadow was quiet for a moment. He looked around the field, which moments ago was silent and had now become a battlefield littered with bodies. His entire life was spent on fields similar to this, but he felt that the time was over. Especially with the mysterious disappearance of Dr. Robotnik several years ago.

The world was at war, and he felt largely responsible for it. It was only two years ago that his former ally had a gruesome battle with Robotnik, and he felt it was an end of a war between the two as Robotnik had broken down in front of the Azure hedgehog screaming obscenities at him and was eventually taken away. Though his counterpart and the world in general celebrated Robotnik's capture, months later he disappeared.

That's where things started to go backwards.

"SHADOW!" the captain of the squadron bellowed out, which got Shadow's attention. There was a pause until Shadow finally remembered his duty. Nostalgia would have to wait. Shadow nodded and in a blink of an eye, disappeared.

**ASCENCION – LEGACY**

**SONIC: EVOLUTION**

**2012-2013**


	35. Chapter 35: Crusades, Part 2

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 35: Crusades, Part 2**

"_War is the most readily available form of chaos."_

**Location: Underground Spring, Unknown**

The two heroes stared in complete awe at the beast before them. It's breathing was heavy, kicking up clouds of dust at the heroes which each exhale. They couldn't comprehend the idea of where this monster came from, or how it got here. It snorted heavily, and with a stomping of its mighty legs, vines shot up all around the cavern. Taking it as a cue to take action, Sonic and Knuckles leaped away from each other, narrowly avoiding a rapidly growing tree. All across the cavern, and each spot their feet contacted, another form of vegetation shot up, threatening to entangle them.

Streaks of blue darted around the circular cave, avoiding falling rubble and plant life with split second movements. His eyes shot open at the sight of three gigantic slabs of wood shooting up from the ground, throwing rubble towards him.

"Shit!"

His shoes slid over top of one piece of rock, and then with a powerful leap, Sonic bounded upwards over a second. A flash of blue followed him as he spun into a ball, and shot down to the ground, slicing apart two thick chunks of rock and clay in the process. Once colliding with the ground, the blue hero rebounded up into the air briefly, and then against the side of the slab of wood. Rings of blue energy shot outwards from the impact, as he shot through the newly formed forth wall. Wood shot every where from the hit, showering the ground with it.

"Knux, we can't just keep running around like this!" Sonic hollered at Knuckles, whom was taking care of the continuously appearing slabs of wood or trees.

"Whenever you've come up with a genius plan feel free to share it with me, Sonic!" he retorted through heavy breaths.

"Shoot me at that _thing_. We can take it down with enough force!"

With a nod of approval, and a smirk, Knuckles ducked below a sweeping vine from the ground. The Emerald Guardian quickly ran towards his comrade, whom had created a cutting vortex in front of the beast. Chunks of vine and plant life flew across the rock floor of the cavern just as the cyclone died out, giving Knuckles his opening.

Jumping up, and then spinning into a homing attack, Sonic descended down in front of Knuckles, who had readied a power packed punch. A ring of flame shot outwards from the release of the echidna's Chaos Energy on impact, and Sonic shot through a storm of leaves and vines in a blinding bullet of blue.

Wind burst throughout the cavern, cutting at the beast itself with its intensity. A glowing orb of blue wrapped around the spot where Sonic shot through the monster, allowing ribbons of Chaos Energy to sweep through the creatures body. It screamed out in agony, slamming its feet and arms against the ground as the typhoon force winds knocking it backwards. The blue blur grunted as he rebounded off of the far wall of the cavern, and in another blue streak, shot through the creature once more. Leaves fluttered in every which way, creating a storm of green as the blue hero slid to his knees and fell to the ground beside Knuckles. The echidna quickly attended to the hedgehog, as the beast screeched out from the two penetrating holes in its chest.

"Sonic, I don't think it's going down just yet!" Knuckles belted.

"Don't worry, Knux," Sonic reassured, turning around to watch as the tree behind them begin falling.

Once again the beast slammed its feet to the ground, causing the earth to quake under the heroes. However, the more it thrashed about, the faster the gigantic tree toppled. And then, finally the the mighty oak tree slammed into the beast, thrusting it to the ground. Dust swooshed upwards from the impact, as a rush of air rushed outwards, pushing against the heroes. The beast cried out several more times before finally silence overtook the cavern.

Both Sonic and Knuckles crept towards the fallen tree, closer to the green and gold aura emanating from within the tree trunk. Making their way closer, Knuckles finally moved the dead tree, where beneath the glowing orb from before lifted up in front of them. The two gazed at it in awe, before finally Sonic grabbed the orb, ceasing its elegant glow. A shock of power shifted through his body, causing him to shiver. The energy within this sphere felt like ice-water in his veins, and it reminded him of the feeling he got when he last fought Eggman.

"You okay, Sonic?" the echidna asked curiously.

"I'm fine," he replied with a thumbs up. "Don't worry. Let's just get out of this place. We should get this to Tails asap!"

Knuckles nodded in agreement. "Right."

The crimson echidna heaved the large oak tree upwards, and then thrust it up into the cavern wall where they had seen the mysterious cloaked figure disappear through. Meanwhile, however, Sonic was fixated on his thoughts, and the familiar feeling of another presence within him. Those dreams had to mean something, and he was going to figure out what.

Noticing Knuckles waving to him from the top of the tree, Sonic zipped up the length of the oak, and together the duo raced through the dark corridor, to where they were sure was the opening.

_You need me, Sonic._

**Location: Shopping District, Capital City**

The beast was absolutely gigantic, as it towered above them nearly thirty feet. It had a long, serpentine neck with a tail to match. Two horns arched out in front of its horse looking face, while three spines formed a trident on its tail. The beast had a bulky scaled body, with icy spines sprawled across its back. It screeched out once more, this time waves of water crashing out from its four legs. As the team jumped out of the waves path, the streets flooded, washing away cars and debris in the process. The beast screeched out again, this time its arm shot towards them, expanding the closer it got. Charmy and Vector quickly slid passed a car, avoiding the massive hand, while Espio jumped off a wall, forming lightning fast hand signs as he did so.

"Ninja Arts; Great Hurricane!"

Heaving in a great breath of air the second he finished his sentence, the chameleon then exhaled. A powerful burst of wind exploded out from his mouth, carrying away the mass of water, smashing it back into the beast. Taking this as a chance to act, Vector heaved out a storm of explosive bubbles from his mouth into the gust of wind just before Espio ceased the attack. The crocodile turned his attention to the beast just in time to catch a vicious string of explosions. Fire and smoke shot upwards from each impact, forcing the beast to step backwards in both fear and pain.

"Great job, Espio!" Vector bellowed with a thumbs up, oblivious to the oncoming attack.

A bullet of condensed air shot free from Espio's mouth, and smashed into Vector seconds before a powerful drill of water burst shot through the air and into a building behind them. Ignoring the destruction of the parking blockade, the purple chameleon quickly dashed into the alley way for cover, while Vector regained his bearings. He knew that if they kept this up they'd never accomplish anything.

They needed a plan.

A vortex of leafs shot up around Espio just as he conformed to the environment around him, effectively becoming invisible. Running with haste, the ninja detective rounded the corner into the adjacent street and then leaped to towards the building on the opposite side of the road. Just as his heels landed against the sturdy wall, he again bounded into the air and towards the larger building overlooking the battle. Espio grunted and rolled across the rooftop of the office building and then ran to get a look at what was going on.

The beast roared in pain again, another explosion rumbling in the streets. Water splashed to the ground from the blow to its body, only for it to regenerate. Noticing Charmy flying beneath the beast inconspicuously, while Vector continued with an assault of explosive bubbles from the safety of a parking blockade, Espio grinned, and unravelled the wire wrapped around his wrist cuffs. The chameleon quickly wrapped the wire around a pillar jutting free from the edge of the building, and then bounded across the street in front of the beast.

Growing tired of the constant explosions, the water-formed beast screeched again, a great sphere of water collecting in front of it. From its back, two gigantic hands of water popped upwards, and then wrapped around the sphere as a gold and white aura began to form around the mass of liquid. Vector ceased his assault momentarily in order to find cover once more, evading waves of crashing water at the same time. Cars flipped and rolled down the street, while chunks of cement crashed into smaller buildings.

"Woah!" Vector yelped, narrowly dodging a storm of pellet sized bullets of ice coming from the beast.

A building toppled from the ice bullets, while Vector caught his breath from the shock of nearly being the destroyed building. "That thing is really getting pissed off now."

Vector punched through a wall into an abandoned shop, running behind a shelf for cover until Charmy was in place. _"Once Charmy drops that bomb on that thing, I'll attack and give Espio the signal. Hopefully he doesn't do anything stupid..."_

Popping his head over the shelf, Vector noticed Espio release his camouflage, and jump back onto a building, then run past the beast. Curious about his plan, the crocodile quickly pulled out his walkie-talky.

"Abort mission, Charmy!" he shouted into the device, watching as the sphere of water previously being formed exploded forwards in a devastating beam of gold and blue.

"_What, why?" _Came Charmy's reply on the other end.

"Just focus on distracting that thing, Espio is up to somethin'!" Vector replied, turning off the communicator.

Meanwhile, Espio slid to a stop behind the beast, noticing Charmy fluttering back into an alleyway after planting a string of bombs in front of the creature. Espio darted his attention back to the ground, and jumped down, forming hand signs during his descent. As he landed, Espio whirled around to face the beasts whipping tail, and exhaled a gigantic ball of flame. The swirling, churning ball grew in size until it nearly matched the size of their opponent. The beast stopped walking, its beam dying out into a thin laser until finally disappearing. It roared out, unaware of the thin wire strung across the gap. As it turned, the wire sliced through its liquid body, chopping through it when suddenly electricity shot down the wire, paralysing it. The beast screamed, its tail levelling out entire buildings. The orb of flame in front of Espio spun around in front of him, growing larger still, when suddenly a string of explosions shot up beneath the beasts feet.

It roared devilishly, its body falling apart in splashes of water. Espio then held his breath and exhaled quickly, launching the gigantic sphere of flame. The beast screeched as its body quickly evaporated from the sheer heat of the attack, until finally it became swallowed up in the heat.

A cloud of steam rose up into the atmosphere, slowly clearing to reveal the beast gone. In it's place, the glowing sphere from before hovered gently in the street. Espio sighed in relief, noticing Charmy flying to grab it. However, from the rooftops, the cloaked man from before swooped down and spun around on the ground with a leg extended. Charmy yelped in pain as the man's shin collided with the bee's face, sending him bouncing across the ground from the kick.

"Thanks for doing all the work for me, Chaotix," he remarked, saluting them. "No hard feelings, right?"

Blue energy wrapped around the mans body as he grabbed the sphere, and then his body dematerialized and spun away into nothingness.

"What was that?" Vector bellowed in rage.

**Location: Memorial National Park, Prison Island**

Soldiers trudged through the thick jungle, following close behind their leader. Frogs croaked through the shrubbery, while trees swayed from the winds blowing above them. A thick mist rolled through the pathway they had been travelling along, cutting out their visibility. Rouge, who had remained silent since they left the wreckage of Central Command, watched Shadow intently. Though she was trained not to crumble under fear, she could feel herself doubting her abilities. She didn't know what she'd do if Shadow was taken. They were only ten minutes away from the rendezvous point that had been set up between Galaxy and Shadow earlier, and her doubts didn't seem to go away.

"Shadow..." she called quietly, attempting to gain his attention.

The dark hedgehog glanced her direction briefly, and then back towards the path. Rouge sighed, taking it as a signal that he was listening.

"You won't get taken, right?" she asked, doing her best to sound calm and tough as usual. "I don't doubt you, hun, but we don't know what they're capable of."

"Commander Shrike is waiting across the river with back up in case anything happens that we didn't plan for," Shadow responded. "Risks are necessary in war. As of now, they're crushing the United Federations, and it's up to GUN to do their part."

"Yeah, that's true," Rouge agreed quietly, biting her lip to hold back from displaying her fears. "Sorry, it's not like me to be such a downer." She laughed gently before they came to a stop in a clearing.

A pond sat in the centre of the clearing, and above them, the trees came together like a parasol blocking out anything from the outside world. Rain spat around them, and the group proceeded further into the clearing where they were to wait for Galaxy. Shadow turned his attention to the trees, noticing a group of soldiers with sniper rifles ready to act. Rouge, however, knew they weren't solely for attacking the enemy, but rather to subdue Shadow in case he did anything that would compromise the mission. But, Rouge felt that Shadow had sensed the hostility and distrust from Shrike, and figured her comrade already knew he was being watched.

However, she couldn't help but wonder what it was that had gotten Shadow so worked up after the Commanders meeting with the President. Rouge quickly dismissed her thoughts, focusing on the situation at hand instead.

In the distance, the trees rustled, and from them came a trio of cloaked figures. They knew these men immediately, and Shadow prepared for the worst, signalling his men to ready their weapons. The sounds of guns being cocked echoed throughout the quiet clearing. Until now, Shadow had never gotten a close look at the attire these people wore. The cloaks themselves were white as snow, save for black flame-looking patterns along the bottoms and sleeves of the garments. The hoods seams also appeared to have the same marking on them.

Finally the trio landed before them, Galaxy immediately revealing himself with a pulled down hood. The other two however remained quiet, but Shadow knew them to be the duo he had met back in Empire City. Yet again, the small girl standing quietly to Galaxy's left managed to give Shadow a feeling of uneasiness. Finally, the royal cat broke the silence, his voice seeming to be calmer than usual.

"I'll admit, this is a surprise, Shadow," the cat acknowledged with a sadistic tone, taking notice to the hidden soldiers positioned around them. "You really must be desperate to attempt to make a difference. But tell me, what do you think will change?"

"I'll explain the terms of the deal," Shadow replied, ignoring the question. Galaxy in turn growled angrily. "If I give myself up to your organization, you leave the innocent alone. Whatever it is you want, can be done quietly. I'll be your personal hostage until your goal is over."

Watching the expression of their enemy, Rouge blinked in shock. "_Are they really buying it?"_

"That seems like a fair trade," the cat agreed with a smirk. "If it was just a hand off, however, why did you need the soldiers, Shadow?"

Glancing behind him, he noticed his men getting rigid in fear. "When you make a deal with the enemy, you can never be too safe." he explained. "Now shall we finish our business?"

Rouge gulped watching her comrade start walking to the centre of the clearing. She could tell that the entire team was on edge at this point, and that a simple slip up could result in the worst case scenario happening. The black hedgehog stopped at the edge of the pond, waiting for the enemy to make their move. He knew by now that the hidden snipers were spotted out by Galaxy. His crimson eyes swept over the trio ahead of him, waiting for any of them to move. Finally, the larger male stepped forward, as Shadow had expected.

"_Fitting for the larger, more defence orientated member to do the hostage taking," _Shadow thought, watching as a bridge of rock formed across the pond.

The bridge seemed to creek under the weight of the bear. Walking slowly and cautiously, the large male finally stepped onto land once more, directly in front of Shadow. The dark hedgehog stared upwards at the emotionless male, noticing his sorrowful expression. He was really beginning to doubt the sanity of these people.

"_So that's why he ordered for specially armed soldiers. Despite the Dragoon rounds being experimental, they'd still pack a punch on a bigger target like that guy. Shadow must've known they'd bring him along!" _Rouge realized, as rock began to crawl up around Shadow, forming a casket.

Clutching her hands tight, she knew the signal for when they were to begin their assault. Her stomach churned, feeling sick to her stomach.

The anxiety was horrible.

Finally the thick mineral surrounded Shadow completely, stopping just below his neck. Yet, he remained absolutely unfazed. Rouge heard the clicking of one of the sniper rifles in the trees cocking, and then, a deafening _bam _echoed throughout the jungle. A pin-sized beam of gold energy loomed in the air for a split second after the sniper had taken the shot, and Rouge knew that the mission was now under way. Feeling calmer, Rouge looked towards the man holding Shadow captive.

"What!" she shouted in disbelief.

A wall of rock crumbled to the ground beside Gaia, and in the background, Galaxy chuckled loudly. Shadow grunted, energy charging up in his fists, when suddenly the dark cat appeared in front of him, Gaia rushing towards the soldiers.

"Silly, Shadow," Galaxy whispered. "You think I couldn't see through your charade?"

**Location: Royal Palace, Soleanna **

Nervously watching the LCD screen mounted on the wall, a girl no older than thirty swirled a strand of her luscious red hair around her finger. Blue eyes comparable to the ocean itself watched in utter disbelief at the news anchor, who had just finished a recap on the recent terrorist strikes to the United Federations. A couple days ago, the planet had been celebrating peace, and now Doctor Eggman had a tighter hold around the planet even in his death.

"Ma'am, can I get you anything?" an elderly sounding lady asked soothingly. "You don't look well."

Unable to process anything else around her, Elise subtly shook her head. The queen's servant nodded hesitantly, and retreated from the royal chamber. Torches glimmered around the perimeter of the room, and Elise found herself wishing for a miracle.

"What will I do if those terrorists come to Soleanna?" she murmured to herself, and grabbed the remote for the television. "I can't even imagine how stressed the President must be..."

She pressed the power button on the remote control, turning the electronic off. Her room fell silent, and she eased herself off of the small wooden chair she had been sitting on, her mind consumed with _what if _scenarios.

Anger had now replaced her fear, and the Queen sighed as she left her quarters. The door clicked shut softly behind her, and she continued down the long corridor that led to the kitchen. To her left, rows of marble columns separated her and the garden outside.

She walked swiftly and gently, unaware of the terror lurking in the night outside. Her body stiffened, and a chill ran down her spine at the subtle breathing apart from her own.

"Queen Elise the Third," they began, the figure from which the voice came from bowing behind her. "I have some business that might definitely catch your interest."

Swallowing down her fear, Elise turned around to look at the man behind her. The darkness seemed to bend around him, enclosing him within it like it was apart of his attire. Deadly, yellow eyes loomed through the darkness, watching her all too casually.

"Who are you?" she croaked, doing her best to snuff out her fear and uncertainty.

To this, the man smiled and stood straight. "My name is Havoc, however I haven't been called that for close to three years now. So, you can call me Tempest."

Elise nodded, trying to find a way to show her acknowledgement towards the shared piece of information. Her heart slammed up into her chest as he inched closer, and finally stopped in front of her, his hand thrust out for a handshake. The Queen, formerly the Princess, nervously grasped his hand, and they shook. She saw a smile form on his face, and his arm receded back into his cloak.

"I have a message for you, Queen Elise," Tempest informed, his voice unchanging from the happy and reassuring tone. "And I'd suggest you pay close attention to it. Could you lead me to a television or monitor of some sort?"

Elise nodded, and turned around to head back towards her living quarters. Despite this man's kind and calm exterior, the feeling that she was in danger failed to leave. Debating whether or not to run, and call for help, Elise settled upon the idea of grabbing the sword in her room. Though it served as only decoration, she figured it'd come in handy.

The door swung open, and Elise escorted the mystery man into the room. Elise shut the door quietly, her eyes dancing over to the sheathed sword hanging beside a portrait of her mother and father. She flipped the light switch, and all at once the chandelier and wall mounted lights flashed to life. Tempest glanced around subtly, and then got comfortable on the small wooden chair Elise had occupied earlier. The jackal crossed his leg over the other, and watched the princess intently as she pulled the heavy two-edged sword free from its scabbard.

"Understandable." Tempest smirked. "Once you've taken a seat, the show can begin, Your highness."

Vacating the chair, the mysterious messenger extended his hand out to welcome Elise to sit, which she cautiously did. Metal clanked against the marble flooring, and then the television across from her flashed on, with nothing but a hand written "G" in red against a black background. Intrigued, Elise listened to the distorted voice that had begun talking.

"I'm sure you're wondering what's going on right now," the voice stated. "However I'll guarantee you're in safe hands and in no danger, so the sword is unnecessary."

Elise blinked in shock, clutching the blade tighter while Tempest leaned casually against the far wall, watching her just in case she _did _try anything. However, he knew it'd be pointless, since he could easily over power her.

"Due to recent events, the United Federations have all but crumbled at this point, ma'am," the mysterious voice informed. "Their military is being plucked apart, and so is the nations defences. I'm certain you don't wish for the same fate as your neighbouring nation, so I'll present you the options available."

Crickets chirped loudly in the background, as the voice chuckled gently, the screen switching over to fuzzy images of the cities destroyed by Doctor Eggman years ago. The familiar scenes hit Elise hard, remembering the terror that her nation had went through during that time.

Mustering up the strength to shout, Elise directed her nerve towards the mysterious transmission, which she was certain was a live broadcast now.

"Who are you?" She shouted, gripping the sword tight.

"Interesting question, Elise," the voice replied with a curious tone. "It seems that you wish to know our identity in hopes it'll make a difference. Unfortunately, it won't, but I'd be happy to explain to you who we are, and what's happening to the planet."

Elise remained silent, waiting for the rest of the speech she knew was bound to come. If these two were in any way connected to the thefts taking place around the world, then she knew that the thieves in the United Federations were much more than that.

"We are a resistance. Founded entirely on the ideal of true peace for our future and present. As a whole, we are called Dusk. Each and every one of us were born in the shadows of this worlds crime, and we'll shed a new light to guide this age. The seven _thieves_, as you've been calling them are apart of the first phase to a new world. Formerly vital individuals within society, now brought together under one cause – one goal. And that is peace."

Tempest had now moved to stand beside Elise, his arms crossed. His smile had since disappeared, and had been replaced with a much more grim expression than from before. Elise shot a quick glance towards him, and then turned her attention back to the screen, which had returned to the "G" image.

"Now, what we want of Soleanna is a simple favour." The voice sighed in satisfaction. "Your kingdom is in control of the third Key we are searching for. It's been held there since the death of Doctor Ivo Robotnik, and we are only requesting to have what's ours returned to us."

"You mean the Twilight Key that Doctor Eggman used in space?" Elise replied, unsure of what to do at this point.

"Yes, one of them," the voice reassured. "I understand the doubts you must be having, but, you'll be promised a place in our new world. Your favour won't go unnoticed."

The sword Elise once grasped clattered to the ground, and she stood up, her arms crossed.

"Fine," she replied. "I'm assuming this man here is one of your organization?"

"Correct," Tempest answered through a grin.

Moving her attention from the jackal, Elise turned her eyes back to the screen, which had now become black again.

"Lets not waste any time, shall we?" Tempest grinned.

"_When you've lived in the darkness, and have seen how terrible war is, then you can try and relate with me." ~ Havoc "Tempest" Thorn, Dusk – Phase 3, 2010_

**To be Continued**

**Authors Note~ **Terribly sorry for the lateness of this chapter! Expect a daily update throughout the remainder of my spring break! As usual, leave your tips, theories and comments in a review!

PS: Check out the start of Sonic Evolution: ASCENSION! I'll be updating that every other week, since it's a joint project!


	36. Chapter 36: Crusades, Part 3

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 36: Crusades, Part 3**

"_Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand."_

**Location: Soleanna**

Elise walked quickly and quietly, trying her best to distance herself from the man following her. She wasn't sure what to do at this point, and she knew by now that her plan was falling through. They had been walking for ten minutes now, and despite walking in circles, doing her best to find someone awake at this hour, it was all in vain. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Elise rounded another corner, only to come to the entrance of the great palace. Behind her, Havoc cleared his throat.

"Where exactly are you taking us, Madam?" he questioned, glancing at the artwork on the walls.

"Uhm, nowhere," she replied quickly, turning to walk up the winding staircase to her left. "Almost there, don't worry."

With an annoyed sigh, Havoc followed. The stairs seemed to drag on forever, but finally they levelled out to another hallway. Havoc glanced past the railings down into the main entry way, then turned his attention back to Elise, who had begun fiddling with her necklace. The jackal sighed, then as he neared the stationary queen, he grasped her wrist. With a quiet yelp before her mouth became covered by her captor's hand, Elise fell to her knees due to the man's overwhelming power. Calmly, Havoc spoke into her ear.

"Enough stalling." He sighed. "Now where's the key?"

Pulling the young queen up, he could feel tears rolling down her cheeks. Havoc groaned, forcing himself not to show any mercy. Elise stumbled through the halls, sobbing through the mysterious man's hand as they walked to the treasure hall. Two marble pillars loomed around them as they entered the room, where at the far wall lay a small glass case which held the Twilight Key.

Havoc quickly released his hold on the young Queen, and gracefully jumped across the length of the room. His tail seemed to bounce gently beneath his cloak as he landed, his eyes looking over the small orb greedily. Disposing of the glass case, the jackal grasped the purple crystal sphere, allowing the waves of black and white energy to radiate around his hand. Turning to wave at the queen, Havoc then disappeared in a flash of purple energy, leaving Elise alone in the room crying, realizing how weak she had been.

**Location: White Jungle**

"Silly, Shadow," Galaxy whispered. "You think I couldn't see through your charade?"

A group of Shadow's men flew through the air, each of them being pinned against trees by a layer of rock. As much as he struggled, he found himself trapped within the coffin of earth, unable to get free. Athana jumped into action from behind the pond, targeting the hidden snipers in the trees. A storm of gunfire echoed throughout the clearing, each of the trained snipers aimed at the small girl flying towards them. A bullet soared through the thick cloak hugging her form, ripping a hole through the fabric. The forest seemed to shake the second the young girl made contact with the first soldier and then a burst of energy erupted forth from the trees. Three splashes of water shot up from the lake, as the soldiers Athana struck plunged to their deaths. Continuing the onslaught, Gaia laughed loudly and punched a soldier, firing him through a tree and into the water, his bones broken from the devastating blow.

"Sorry," Gaia snorted, swinging his arms around to bulldoze a group of soldiers over.

"_Sorry_ this, asshole!" The bear darted his attention upwards, only to receive a prompt boot to the face.

Stomping backwards in pain, the rock manipulating bear howled out while Rouge landed and launched another kick into his abdomen. Due to the lack of focus into the constructs Gaia had created, the rock around Shadow crumbled into sand, allowing him to tackle the laughing Galaxy beside him. The cat simply snickered, his violet eyes staring deep into Shadow's crimson orbs of fury. With a tightened grip, the dark hedgehog pressed the cat against the jungle floor viciously.

"It's about time you're games are stopped, Galaxy," Shadow shouted, earning nothing more but laughter.

Behind the Ultimate, Athana landed behind her accomplice and spun around, throwing two soldiers into the sky. The young girl quickly flipped onto the sturdy bear, and jumped into the air. First she drove a powerful fist into one soldiers throat, shooting him back down to the ground, and then kicked away the other into a tree. Shuddering from the sound of a soldiers back breaking, the bat failed to notice the hulking bear in front of her swing his fist. Chunks of rock shot up from the ground, covering his hand a split second before impacting the bat girl, launching her across the clearing and into the pond in the centre. Water shot upwards, misting over the area. Gaia snickered and walked forwards, but quickly took a step back in horror as Shrike shot through the mist, slamming his fist directly against Gaia's forehead.

"Psycho Crusher!"

A vicious wave of turquoise light shot free from the GUN commanders fist, launching the bear through a funnel of light. Gaia tumbled along the ground, and flipped into the lake, creating a massive splash of water. Using the time to save Rouge, the Commander quickly spun around and dove past Shadow and Galaxy, pulling Rouge up onto dry land.

"Shadow! Is this what you had in mind?" Shrike snarled, his antlers glowing as his pupils dilated.

A hand shot up from the lake, and from the massive body of cold water, Gaia emerged. The rock around his form sunk to the grass as he heaved his body from the water, covering the plant life in mud. The cloak no longer masked the bears body, revealing him to be wearing a pair of white slacks and combat boots. Gaia grunted, his fur dripping water, the rock formerly protecting his body turning to mud.

"So water leaves you vulnerable, huh?" the enraged GUN commander remarked, watching as Athana landed beside her partner.

"What do we do now, boss!" Gaia shouted, on the verge of tears. "They're too strong for us!"

"Just stick to the plan," Galaxy replied, his body beginning to spiral into a vortex of black particles.

Growling, the black hedgehog quickly jumped to his feet and spun around to face the trio of criminals ahead. Once fully materializing, Galaxy smirked, and Rouge screamed. Both Shrike and Shadow twirled around, watching as an arm of purple energy pulled Rouge to the opposite side of the clearing. The young bat kicked her legs, clawing at the hand around her throat. Yellow chaos energy erupted to life in the dark hedgehog's hand, readying a powerful Chaos Spear.

"Now, now Shadow," Galaxy spoke up through laughter. "You wouldn't want to hurt your precious Rouge, would you?"

The light quickly fizzled away, and the dark hero turned his attention back to the Dusk agents, doing his best to ignore the struggles from Rouge.

"Here's what's going to happen," the royal cat shouted. "We're going to leave, and if any of you follow, I'll kill her."

A gun shot rang through the clearing after the cat's sentence, and then Athana screamed in agony, falling to the ground. Blood spilled to the ground from her leg, and she cursed in anger, clutching the bullet wound. Gaia shot a petrified glance at his partner, and then towards Galaxy, who had already begun his retreat.

"Damnit, Gaia! Help me!" She hissed, but the large bear bit his lip and followed after their leader.

As Shrike turned to Shadow to bark orders, the dark hedgehog had already set off after Galaxy. The Commanders knuckles cracked from him clutching his fists, his anger boiling over from the sudden turn of events. Turning his attention over to the wounded criminal, the buck signalled for the remaining soldiers, previously unseen, to storm the clearing. Screaming obscenities at the soldiers, Athana thrashed about at the men who fought to restrain her, and finally two sets of restraints found their way around her ankles and wrists.

**Location: Tails Workshop, Mystic Ruins**

After traversing the same tunnel for nearly a half hour, the heroes were delighted to have finally found the end. Letting out a sigh of relief as they exited out into the Mystic Ruins, Sonic stretched out his arms to the sky, taking in the fresh air. Beside him, Knuckles walked forth, stretching his arms and basking in the light of the setting sun. Now, their next destination awaited only a couple minutes away, then, they could rest.

"Since I know where we are." Sonic grinned wide, crouching low. "I'll get us there nice n' fast!"

"Wha'-?"

Before he could retaliate, Sonic snatched the Master Emerald guardian's wrist and burst through the thick forestry. Trees whizzed past them as Sonic dashed along the pathway winding through the forest as if he could do it in his sleep. The blue hero side stepped, narrowly avoiding a group of archeologists, whom tumbled to their feet from the intense turbulence left behind from Sonic's speed. Then the massive cliff leading out of the forest came into view, and despite Knuckles pleads for Sonic to slow down, they sped up. Knuckles' entire body jerked downwards from the sheer intensity of the upward motion from Sonic's jump. The wind screamed in their ears during their ascent, only stopping for a split second when they landed. However, before Knuckles could catch his breath, Sonic blasted through the tunnel, bursting through to the train stop in a split second. A blue streak zipped along the hill and up the stair case to Tails Workshop.

"Yo, Tails!" Sonic shouted as he walked through the door. "I got something you should take a look at!"

"Sonic!" The group within shouted, while Amy leaped to her feet and pulled the hero into a hug.

"Where _weeere _you!" she squealed in delight. "Are you guys okay?"

With a grin, Sonic returned the embrace, which Amy eagerly accepted. Within the living room, Sonic could see everyone had been pretty bored in their absence, as well as lost. With everyone absorbed in the story the red and blue duo had to tell, Sonic found himself having to shush everyone in order to talk. Pulling the small, green orb from his quills.

"We found this after kicking some monster's ass," Sonic chuckled. "Any idea what it is, bud?"

"That's the Twilight Key, Mr. Sonic," Professor Pickle spoke up, setting down one of his sandwiches.

"Doctor Robotnik was talking those when we met him on the Death Egg!" Tails exclaimed, remembering the cryptic speech the Doctor had given.

"What are they for, Mister?" Cream wondered, gazing thoughtfully at the small orb.

Beckoning the group to take a seat, the spots on the sofa were quickly taken, as the Professor moved to stand in the middle of the room, everyone's gaze landing on him in anticipation. Slowly the old man moved over to Sonic, grasping the small orb in both his hands, and then cleared his throat.

"They have many uses, my dear Cream," he finally responded, looking into the beauty of the crystal sphere. "However, legends say they are what keeps the planet's energy in order. These orbs are spread across the planet so that they are hidden away from mankind, as a form of defence mechanism. Interestingly enough, they also possess a consciousness which can literally sense changes in energy balance within the atmosphere. If these signals are detected in any form, the Key unleashes it's consciousness – more simply, its guardian."

Pausing to look at the sphere for a moment, Professor Pickle then set it on the end table. "You said you encountered such a thing, boys?"

Nodding, Knuckles leaned back in the armchair. "Yeah, I've never seen anything like it, either. It's power was incredible! If Sonic and I hadn't worked together, it probably would have crushed us."

"That's strange," the Professor replied quietly, rubbing his chin. "Usually, the Twilight Key chooses a vessel, or in other words someone to inhabit that expresses similar traits to the keys own."

"How many of these are there, Professor?" Tails piped up quickly.

"Seven, I believe."

"And you said they usually have a vessel?"

"Correct." The Professor nodded, while everyone turned their attention to Tails.

"Back on the Death Egg, we went through a room with some people being held in stasis. I didn't pay much attention back then, and assumed them to be dead or machines, but now it kinda make's sense..." Tails rambled, drifting into thought.

Mighty blinked, remembering the strange figures he saw in the tubes of water. "I remember them. You mean to say you think Eggman killed the vessels to get those keys?"

"I'm thinking so," Tails replied, staring at the strange orb. "They must have hidden themselves after Sonic killed that weird monster."

"I'd suggest prioritizing in finding those Keys," Professor Pickle suggested, taking a seat to finish his meal. "They could be the catalyst to the recent events across the world."

"I bet I can locate the others if I lock onto their energy signature!" Tails exclaimed with excitement, and leaped from his spot.

With his tails spinning, the young fox snatched the small gem, completely unfazed by the strange energy Sonic had felt earlier, and ran into his workshop. Everyone looked at each other with perplexed expressions, when a moment later Tails rushed back into the living room with his small computer in hand. Tapping in a few commands into the device, a loading screen popped up onto the computer as a beam of green light scanned over the small orb in the child genius's hand. Before long, the device beeped a couple times, showing a map of the world with three glowing dots.

However, before he could happily make the announcement of his success, a figure appeared in the centre of the room, right in front of Tails. With shocked expressions all around, the mysterious man glanced around curiously, then pulled down his hood to reveal himself to be the same man Sonic and Knuckles had met in the cavern.

"You!" Sonic shouted, jumping from his seat.

"Hello, again." Havoc nodded, paying minimal attention to everyone, instead scouting the room out. "Since you two were gone from the spring when I got back, I assumed you'd left with the Twilight Key. Mind telling me where it is?"

Though, as he turned around to find Tails, a wide grin found its way on the jackal's face. "Oh, you're keeping it safe for me!"

Realizing the man's intentions, the young fox jumped back, but not fast enough. Havoc grabbed hold of Tails wrist, and then spun around to through the young hero into Sonic, who slid back and then shot through the wall. Debris filled the room, and two brothers groaned from outside. Havoc casually stepped through the wreckage, ignoring the shouts from the others as he did so. Once outside, the mysterious jackal jumped up the water wheel, and onto the top of the house. Without much time, the group of heroes gathered around Sonic and Tails, ready to attack Havoc.

"You know, I'd really appreciate help finding the last three keys." He yawned, stretching his arms. "Actually, I think one is on Prison Island!"

"What makes you so sure you'll get away from here with _that _one, punk?" Amy shouted, her hammer forming in her hands. "Because I'm sick of things going wrong!"

"Looks like your blue friend thinks otherwise," the jackal retorted simply, pointing out the fading trail of blue light. "Ciao!"

With growing rage, Amy bounded from the ground, her hammer poised to strike. Letting out a battle cry, the bubblegum pink hedgehog brought her hammer down at the jackal, whom quickly flipped backwards along the workshop. Eager to help, Mighty quickly jumped up to assist, descending from the sky with a drawn fist. However, Havoc quickly jabbed his palm upwards, catching the armadillo's fist, and then swung the panicked traveller down on Amy. Each of them grunted in pain and shock as they collided then tumbled down the side of the workshop. Before either of them could recover, a portal sucked the man up, leaving them with more inspiration than ever.

"I'd assume Sonic is heading out to Prison Island," Tails spoke up, quickly formulating a plan. "One is in Holoska, and another is in Mazuri. We should get going as fast possible, because there's no telling how long we have before that guy finds them!"

**Location: White Jungle**

Trees whizzed by like blurred pallets of colour. Shadow darted through the maze of trees, his eyes locked on the fluttering white cloaks ahead, his ears acutely tuned to the sound of Rouge's cry for help. His heart slammed against his chest, and he quickened his pace. He was the one who was supposed to be taken if something went wrong, not her! Shadow cursed at himself in his head and then shot forwards in a burst of light, attempting to catch up. The trees suddenly grew sparse, and the jungle opened up to the beach, where Galaxy and Gaia turned around to face the dark hedgehog.

"Admiral try, hedgehog," Galaxy sneered. "But consider this my victory from our unfinished bout not too long ago!"

A vortex of light shot open behind the two criminals, and they jumped through. Life seemed to move in slow motion while Shadow lunged forwards to grab Rouge's desperate reach. However, life then zipped back into real time, the warp tunnel spun closed, and Shadow slid into the sand. The hedgehog growled angrily, tightening his hands around the small grains of rock beneath him. This wasn't the end, and he was going to get her back no matter what!

Hearing voices, Shadow turned his head back to the jungle, finding both GUN and none other than Sonic the hedgehog. The blue hero waved cheerily, unaware of the situation at hand. Groaning in annoyance, Shadow stood back up, doing his best to tune out his twin's voice.

"Yo, Shadow!" Sonic called, jogging up to greet his comrade. "Feelin' a bit more relaxed than last time?" He joked, punching the lifeforms shoulder gently.

"No." He sneered, turning his attention to Shrike. "What now, Commander?"

Glancing at the buck who had now come between them, Sonic gulped and stepped back, quickly becoming quiet. Although he was often a loud mouth, he knew not to talk too much when GUN was around. Somehow he always ended up being on the wrong side of the law when he did.

"We have our captive, so let's head back." Shrike instructed, beginning to turn back through the jungle.

"But, sir, what about Agent Rouge?"

"You knew the consequences, Soldier," Shrike remarked, staring deeply at the struggling hostage.

Quickly becoming quiet, the hedgehog soldier turned his attention to the ground. The blue hero set his hand on the Ultimate Life Form's shoulder, giving him a thumbs up to reassure his ally. However the crimson washed soldier swept the blue blur's hand away and marched behind GUN, snarling as he did so.

"Gee, I was just tryna' help." Sonic muttered.

However, before the group could recede back into the thick forestry, a man clapping caught their attention, causing them all to spin around. Standing on a rock partially submerged by the ocean, the same Jackal that Sonic had met back in the underground spring shot him a grin.

"You!" Sonic belted, jabbing a finger at the man.

"So we meet again, Sonic," the jackal recalled, and turned his attention towards the others. "Strange, I thought you didn't work with the military?"

"He doesn't," Shrike interjected quickly, walking in front of the hedgehog twins. "Who are you and state your business here!"

"Hmm?" Havoc blinked, leaning forward to gain a better look at the buck. "Who are _you?_"

"I am Shrike Errgon, Supreme Commander of the Guardian Unit of Nations."

"Quite a long name," Havoc sniggered. "But I'm not here for introductions."

Suddenly the beach began to rumble, and from it, a glowing sphere rose from the ground. Sand cascaded around the fiery barrier around the crystal orb, then a storm of flame shot outwards, causing the group to guard their eyes. The ocean water grew violent from the sudden display of power, then as the heat and light died down, the sphere was nowhere to be found. Havoc grinned, taking a seat on the rock, watching a blazing bird with a long serpentine tail swoop from the sky. Both Sonic and Shadow somersaulted out of the way of, then bounded back to their feet. The creature screeched, rounding back towards the group.

"What is that thing?" Shrike bellowed.

"That used to be Gantz's key," Havoc answered casually, watching the flaming bird soar through the sky. "That's the Twilight Key's consciousness. You see, when the Key's sense a threat, or abnormality, they awaken to protect themselves."

"Well it was obviously _you_ it sensed!" Sonic shouted, jumping out of the way of the gigantic creature.

The flames from the beasts four wings seemed to eat away at everything it touched, burning the trees of the jungle down in just an instant. Screeching once more, the beast swerved through the sky, then landed in front of the group, its four wings pulsing powerfully. Embers danced across the beach, flying through clumps of sand. Sonic and Shadow grunted, knowing full well it was up to them to take down the beast. Sonic smirked, glancing at his companion, and nodded. Rolling his eyes, Shadow jumped forth, throwing a blinding Chaos Spear through the air. The arrow of energy pierced the beast, causing it to emit a heavy roar, spewing flames from its dragon-like maw.

"Keep pelting it with your Chaos Spear's, Shads!" Sonic called out, dashing towards the distracted beast.

Shadow growled, and much to his displeasure complied to the blue hero's instructions. The dark hedgehog fired bolt after bolt of energy at the beast, beginning to create a storm of rapid attacks. The beast continued to screech in pain, two of its wings now moving in front of it to defend itself from the onslaught. However, Sonic slid beneath the beasts lion like legs, and jumped up onto its tail. Golden sparks of energy fluttered around Sonic from his comrades attack, leaving scorch marks wherever they touched.

The beast's tail swayed violently, but Sonic darted up its back, avoiding the fiery wings, and jumped up into the sky. Immediately Shadow ceased his assault, allowing the beast to let its guard down. The blue hero grinned, a sphere of violently spinning chaos energy jumping to life in his palm. Sonic shot downwards in a blur of azure light, while ribbons of white and blue launched upwards into a vortex the instant his attack collided with the beasts cranium. Flames jumped away from the monster, creating a fiery vortex around it in attempts to destroy the problem – in this instance, Sonic. However, Sonic tore through the creatures head, his Sonic Wind exploding into a tornado, knocking the it away.

Sparks exploded outwards from the dying bird-hybrid while it vanished, allowing for the Twilight Key to drop into the sand.

"That wasn't so hard!" Sonic chuckled, bending down to grab the sphere.

However, as his hand wrapped around the smooth edges of the orb, a sudden flash of shockingly cold energy shot through his system. Sonic yelped, falling into the sand, while holding his smouldering hand. Sonic groaned in pain, only jumping to action as Havoc landed in the sand in front of him.

"So you're the one," he said with a serious expression. "Don't die too soon."

Then as fast as he appeared, Havoc disappeared with the flaming sphere. However, this served to be the least of Sonic's worries, as two strong sets of hands wrapped around his biceps. The blue hero yelped in surprise, shooting frantic looks at the two soldiers dragging him through the sand. Further ahead, he could see Shadow being lifted from the ground, and Sonic knew instantly that he was in trouble. The soldiers pulling him finally lifted him up in front of Shrike, who had a smug grin on his face.

"Look's like you won't be getting in the way anymore, _hero_," he sneered, ordering for the soldiers to commence through the jungle.

"Why you-!" Sonic barked.

A powerful blow struck his head, and his world fell dark. Fading sounds of voices filled his mind, until finally everything became mute.

**Location: Capital City**

After their most recent defeat, the Chaotix had decided to continue their investigation through the city. Vector, who seemed to be still enraged over the loss of a vital clue stomped ahead of his team mates, heading towards the outskirts of the city. Fluttering silently beside Espio, the young bee sighed heavily, growing bored of the quiet city. Since they encountered that strange beast, the weather had been unusually sunny and humid. The clouds had disappeared near instantaneously, giving way for the brutally hot sun. Each of them seemed to be sweating heavily, but despite the heat, they didn't stop their trek through Capital City.

"So what do you think the President is gonna do about all this, guys?" Charmy wondered, scratching his chin.

"Probably hiding," Espio replied simply, wiping sweat from his head. He was beginning to regret cursing the stormy weather from before. "He was attacked earlier, so his location is probably being kept secret."

"But aren't they gonna do somethin' 'bout these bad guys?" the young bee questioned curiously.

"That'd be GUNs job, Charmy," Vector interjected from ahead, stopping at the edge of a cliff which overlooked the outskirts of Capital City.

Rolling green hills went as far as the eye could see, while highways for vehicles weaved through the fields. The group sighed, and then both Charmy and Vector collapsed to the ground, each of them exhausted. Grabbing at the water pouch hanging from his jacket, Charmy opened it up to quench his thirst, finding nothing but a few drips of water. Sighing, the bee tossed the container to the ground, taking in the sound of the grasshoppers in the background. Espio, on the other hand stood ready at the cliff, scouting out the horizon for anything that could help them, and sure enough something caught his eye.

"Guys I think I found something," he explained, squinting at an object down below. "It looks like a space ship."

Immediately jumping to his feet, Vector pushed Espio to the side, attempting to gain a look at what his comrade had found. Though barely noticeable, the remains of a space shuttle sat quietly at the base of the hill they were on. The crocodile quickly jumped down the side of the cliff, sliding down swiftly to his target. Dust rolled up from his descent, while Charmy assisted Espio by hovering down. Once the trio reached their destination, they were quick to realize the shape of the shuttle.

"It looks like an egg," Charmy exclaimed, absolutely bewildered.

Walking around the vessel, Espio scraped away at the layers of moss growing on the side of their discovery, finding an Eggman insignia present. It wasn't a surprise to Espio, really. Intrigued, the chameleon continued his inspection on the shuttle, making sure it wasn't a trap, but was unable to stop Vector before he ran inside the first opening he found. Espio sighed, and followed his team mates inside. Shafts of sunlight just barely made their way through the openings in the ceiling, illuminating the strange technology within.

"I wonder what this was for?" Vector wondered, gazing at the strange water filled tubes lining the walls of the vessel.

"Eggman was probably trying to send something down before he died," Espio deduced, looking at the blood on the ground.

Suddenly a screen flashed to life on the far wall of the vessel, lighting up the entire ship. The trio gazed at the countdown on the screen curiously, unsure what to make of it. Finally, the screen flashed over to Doctor Robotnik, causing the trio to stiffen.

Was he still alive?

"If you're watching this, the first phase of my plan has been successful," he stated with a wicked smirk. "Though my physical body no longer exists among you, Project Dusk confides within the second shuttle I sent down to Earth."

Each of them watched on in absolute shock and confusion, unable to figure out what to expect. Through the details Sonic had given the gang about the entire battle, Espio remembered Sonic mentioning something about Project Dusk, but he wasn't able to put his finger on it right now. Perhaps it'd come to him later...

The recording fizzled through static briefly. "Now that I'm dead, my goals and ideology are yours to carry out. I worked to create Eggmanland; the ideal place for a utopia of which everyone could live peacefully and equally. Though Sonic may have undoubtedly snuffed out the Death Egg, you will find all my schematics, plans and blueprints aboard the ARK. The vessels, Phase 1 of the team I've code named "Dusk" exist within the same shuttle you are aboard now. I only wish that I could have seen you, my greatest creation learn and grow. Essentially you are my son, and you will be the next, and final, piece of my plan."

Silence rolled through the ship, the trio's eyes becoming wide at the idea of a successor to the old Doctor. Was he really orchestrating things from his death?

"As everything unfolds, you will learn more and find more about my plans for you. Take the vessels to the ARK, and start where I left off, my son. Exterminate that blue pest, and lead the world to an era of peace!"

Then the recording stopped, and the screen once more faded to black. The Chaotix could do nothing but watch the screen in confusion, terror and helplessness. Finally, Espio made the first move, craning his head around to look at the seven containment tubes sitting idle around them. He saw the blood stains across each of them, and then the paths of blood leading out of the shuttle. The ninja reptile turned around and walked to the exit of the vessel, followed by a silent Charmy and Vector.

"So those people terrorizing the planet are connected to the Doctor?" Vector questioned out loud, trying to gather his thoughts. "By the sounds of things, there's something beyond what we've seen. Maybe that man we saw back in Capital is the _son _Eggman was talking about? He seemed different from the others we've met so far!"

"I bet their base is on the ARK!" Charmy exclaimed. "We should go there and investigate!"

"Charmy makes a good point." Espio nodded, as the trio exited the shuttle. "If they really are taking refuge on the ARK, we'll find something up there. Maybe even the leader behind everything!"

"Now that we have a plan, we just have to get up there!" Vector informed enthusiastically. "Any ideas?"

"I'm sure GUN has some space shuttles hanging around their base that we can _borrow,_" Espio replied with a small grin.

"_No one starts a war – or rather, no one in his sense ought to do so – without first being clear in his mind what he intends to achieve by the war." ~ Carl Von Aushseim – GUN Supreme Commander, 1920-1930_

**To be Continued**

**Authors Note~ **This was one massive chapter! Lots going on, and also the largest chapter to date, coming in at just over 5,000 words! As usual, leave your tips, comments and theories in a review! I'd love to hear you guys speculate on recent events!


	37. Chapter 37: Crusades, Part 4

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 37: Crusades, Part 4**

"_Be a light in a world that is so utterly becoming dark."_

**Location: GUN Central Command, Empire City**

Electricity surged through the machines holding the twin hedgehogs, faintly lighting the room with a blue glow. A pained groan left Sonic, his eyes struggling to open as he awoke. Although the room was dark, Sonic used the light available to slowly get a hold of his surroundings. Everything seemed blurry in his mind. Finding it hard to focus on anything for more than a couple seconds, he shook his head gently to try and get a hold of himself. Stretching and moving his hands, he could tell there was no use in trying to escape being held up like he was.

"_What did they do to me," _Sonic thought to himself, unable to shake the heavy exhaustion he was feeling.

Light burst through the room from a door opening, nearly blinding the blue hero. Squinting through the sudden flash of light, Sonic made out a large figure who seemed very familiar to him.

Then the door shut, but before the light could disappear from the room, the fluorescent light bulbs above turned on, filling the place with a gentle hum. Blinking a couple times to get acquainted with the change of atmosphere, the blue hero glanced to his left, finding Shadow glaring ahead.

"Sup, Shads?" Sonic snickered, sounding as though he just woke up.

"So you two are finally awake. I was beginning to worry we had killed the both of you," the man who had just entered remarked with a grin.

Green eyes shot towards the source of the voice, finding it to be none other than the GUN Supreme Commander. Better known to them as Commander Shrike. Walking calmly towards the twins, the muscular buck gazed at them calculatingly. A chill ran up the blue hedgehog's spine while the man crept closer, his boots thudding against the floor amongst the hum of the lights.

"What's the meaning of this, Shrike?" Shadow spat venomously, golden energy darting along his arms.

It became clear to Sonic that even his comrade was struggling against their restraints. Something was definitely different about this Commander.

"Don't take it personally Shadow, but you should have seen it coming." Shrike crossed his arms, standing in front of the twins. "You see, with nuisances like you two running around, it makes business for GUN extremely slow. Justice should be in the hands of the organization whose primary purpose is to maintain it."

"Oh, _please_!" Sonic snapped back sarcastically. "If it weren't for Shadow and I, the planet would've been destroyed by the ARK!"

"But if it weren't for you two, the ARK wouldn't have fallen from its spot in orbit in the first place," Shrike retorted calmly. "You heroes cause a lot more problems than you're solving. Abraham may have respected you two, but as for myself, I think vigilantes are nothing but a bunch of kids trying to play Superman."

"Commander, I suggest you release me before the President is informed of your actions," the dark hedgehog growled. "I'm one of the most valuable agents to this military. If you kill me, you'd have a death wish!"

Shrike howled out in laughter, clutching his sides. Had he lost his mind?

"You're right, you are valuable, Shadow. But I wouldn't dare kill the primary schematic to my super soldier program!" Shrike announced. "Since our world is deprived of great Chaos Physicist's such as your creator, we need to study you"

"Just so you can build half-assed copies of people you're jealous of?" Sonic quipped with a weak smirk. "You better dig a deep hole to hide yourself, bud. Once I'm out of these things holding me -" Sonic tugged at the strange mechanical cuffs around his wrists and ankles, the blue threads of rope-like energy bouncing slightly from the movement, " I'll wipe the floor with that smug face of yours!"

"Bold words, _hero_," the buck replied maliciously. "That containment system was specially designed to withstand your individual powers. They're neutralizing the Chaos energy in your body, making you as weak as your every day person."

"_So that's why I feel so tired," _Sonic thought.

"Tell me, Shrike, how do you plan on recreating one of the finest pieces of technology known to this world?" Shadow questioned quietly. "Professor Gerald was one of a kind, do you really think the likes of you could replicate his work? Hell, Doctor Eggman couldn't even do it!"

A wide grin spread across the bucks features, as he chuckled to himself. "That's what you think, soldier. But since you two won't have any way to stop us, I find no sense in blabbing all our secrets."

Struggling against the restraints further, Sonic grunted as a pulse of electricity shot through his body. The blue hero shouted in pain, then hung limp groaning.

"What do you plan to do after your so called super soldier program?" Shadow remarked, his expression stone cold.

"Why, that should be obvious, Shadow! I'm going to get rid of anyone trying to enforce justice who isn't in allegiance with GUN!" A wild look suddenly filled the Commanders face. "Once the world is free of scum like Sonic, I'll enforce supreme rule over the country!"

"You've really went off the deep end, haven't you?" Came Sonic's weak reply.

"It's people like you, _Sonic_, that make GUNs authority seem diluted!" he barked. "Once I get rid of you, I'll show the world that they need me - that they need GUN!"

"The job of GUN is to protect, that is unless you're completely oblivious to what the acronym stands for, Commander!" Shadow sneered.

"The _heroes _steal our job," Shrike growled. "After I overthrow the President, and by that I mean, kill the poor bastard, I'll enforce a law to outlaw any acts of vigilantism. With anyone formerly labelled a hero out of the way, I'll form a military run government! Everything will be all that much easier after I form a peace treaty with that organization we've been encountering!"

"You really think you'll get away with it?" Sonic retorted with a defiant smirk. "Gee, how'd a creep like you ever get into power!"

"Shut up you vermin!" Shrike shouted, his voice bellowing through the room. He then turned his attention to Shadow and sneered. "I have plans for you, too, Shadow."

Each of the hedgehogs remained silent, watching as the Commander snorted and left them in the dark once more. Although they had many things to say at the current time, they remained silent. The weight of everything happening simply becoming too much for them to fully comprehend.

**Location: Dusk Hideout**

"Get your hands off me, you creep!"

The young huntress scowled, fighting her captors grip. Though blindfolded, her acute sense of hearing allowed to her to move efficiently, just as though she could see. However it proved to be worthless if she couldn't move on her own. With a swift blow to her back, the bat fell to the ground only to find a foot firmly planted on her head, pinning her face to the dirt. Galaxy leaned down, a wicked snarl present on his features.

"I suggest you stop your struggling and start following orders. Unless you need some _motivation_?"

Feeling a tight grip around her wrists once again, the GUN agent sighed and stood up. Although unable to figure where exactly she had been taken, she did know, however, they were in a cave of some sort. The further they walked through the cave, the more she could feel the rush of fresh air. Was she being led back outside? Soon they encountered a stair case, and after several minutes of ascending, they stopped. Finally the blind fold around her head was removed, allowing her to see.

In front of her, a giant statue stood tall. Although she was unsure of who it was, it creeped her out all the same. Arched walls rose upwards to form a dome like structure, but they stopped short of forming a completed roof, allowing one to see the night sky. Rouge knew that there was a reason to the design after all her run ins with creepy terrorist organizations. Galaxy walked past her, catching her attention. Sea foam coloured eyes followed the royal cat as he walked towards the statue. The young bat gasped, as a throne suddenly materialized out black energy, allowing the cat to sit down on it and stare at her intently.

"Why did you bring me here!" she shouted angrily, jumping to her feet again.

"You're at the Dusk hideout, dear," Galaxy replied sinisterly, and adjusted in his seat. "It's about time we found a suitable sacrifice to awaken the next tool in Dusk's plan!"

"S-sacrifice...?" Rouge repeated quietly, her eyes wide. "Why would you need a sacrifice?"

The defiant and fearsome attitude Rouge once adorned had now faded away with the cold realization of the situation she was in. She stared at the ground quietly, paying no attention to the howling laughter coming from the man on the throne. Right now the best she could do was hope for someone to come rescue her. She knew just by looking at this man that she would be no match for him if she were to try and escape. For now, the best possible option that she saw fitting was to wait.

But would she run out of time, she wondered?

"Galaxy," a voice called out from behind Rouge. "It seems your craving for power is ever growing."

The huntress turned her head slightly, watching as a taller cloaked figure walked past. However, as he walked ahead, the cloak surrounding his form burnt away, revealing himself. His fur was a mixture of black, blue and white, however it was hardly visible due to his clothing. Adjusting the necklace around his neck, Havoc unzipped the black vest he wore, and walked past Rouge.

A long tail swished behind him, dancing with each step. Finding nothing more to do than remain quiet, Rouge watched on.

Piercing yellow eyes landed on Galaxy. "You know, he's not too happy that I had to go out and get these keys for you."

The royal soldier gulped as he jumped from his seat, immediately showing his respect for Havoc. "Send him my apologies, but it was only to benefit the mission of my phase!"

Watching his subordinate calmly, Havoc finally sighed and scratched his head. "You know I'm not the strict or bossy type, Galaxy," the man admitted, and waved his hand in the air. From four small portals came four differently coloured orbs. "But I do have to follow orders. You're on thin ice, and if you mess up..."

The orbs hovered to the ground in front of the royal cat. Quickly realizing them as the Twilight Keys, Rouge caught her breath in shock.

"I'm the one he's ordered to take care of any messes you leave behind. And if it turns out you're apart of the mess, then I won't hesitate to do my job." Havoc glared at the cat, his attitude completely transforming. "We are but a single group of trees amongst a forest – remember that."

Before the young leader could reply, Havoc disappeared through a portal, leaving Rouge alone with the insane soldier once more. Quietly collecting the small orbs into his arms, Galaxy walked back to the strange statue behind him, placing them into the holes meant to hold the orbs. A flash of light coursed through the statue, causing it to crumble slightly. However the sudden surge of power quickly dispersed, and after uncovering her eyes from the flash, Rouge found five figures kneeling before Galaxy.

"Are we going to be getting Athana back, sir?" Gaia asked quietly, biting his lip. "We can't just let the bad guys have her!"

"She shouldn't have allowed herself to get caught!" Gantz shouted at his comrade. "If she couldn't handle the job, then she deserves to be held captive."

"Silence!" Galaxy hissed, slamming his fist on the once again formed throne. "GUN has one of the keys, so I'm sending one of you to go get it. If the opportunity presents itself, bring Athana back. In the mean time, it's time to start our invasion!"

Galaxy's deadly eyes fell on Rouge, and a wide smirk crept onto his face. "As for you, I suggest you start saying your good byes."

**Location: GUN Central Command, Empire City**

Sighing for almost the one hundredth time since they awoke, Sonic weakly pulled against his restraints. They had been stuck in the dark for who knows how long now. Turning his green eyes to his left, Sonic searched for Shadow in the dark, fighting to acquaint himself with the lack of light.

"Hey, Shadow," Sonic asked quietly, trying to gain his attention.

"What?" the dark hedgehog replied gruffly – clearly he too was unimpressed with their situation.

"How are we gonna deal with this?" the blue hero questioned.

"What do you mean _we?_"

"You know, like as a team, or whatever."

"We are in no way a team, moron," Shadow huffed. "Didn't I make it clear that you were to stay out of this?"

"Yeah, well your plan of keeping the emeralds in a safe place didn't work out as you thought, now did it?" Sonic remarked, mocking his comrades gruff voice.

"And you could have done better?" Shadow retorted with annoyance.

Quieting down, Sonic calmed himself and took in a breath of the stale air they had been forced to endure. "Listen, we both know that if _someone _doesn't do _something _then there won't be much to protect in too long. If the idea of team work is so touchy, what do _you _plan to do?"

"Stopping Shrike is priority right now, I hope you realize that," Shadow replied. "If he succeeds, then we're all shit out of luck."

"Yeah..." Sonic answered, looking at the ground. "Do you think he's working for Dusk?"

"Who?"

"That group - they're called Dusk. Or that's what that man we met on the beach called it, anyway."

Pondering the question, Shadow knew it was likely, but he also knew his supreme Commander too well for him to even think about sharing his power and leadership. "No, he has too much pride to do something like that," he responded. "But I do know he's planning something once he meets with them. I don't think he's realized that this group are just pawns."

"Wait...What?" Sonic remarked in shock, darting his attention to Shadow's direction. "There's more of them?"

"C'mon, you can't really expect me to believe you haven't realized it yet, either," Shadow grumbled. "They operate through a military system. I find it highly unlikely that Galaxy, or even the man we saw on the beach, to be the leaders. They may be smart, but they aren't organized enough to direct an operation of this size."

"So you think Shrike should be stopped before he tries to strike an allegiance with them?"

"Shrike needs to be put out of the equation as soon as possible, before he gains the lead because of your incompetence."

"Why are you blaming _me_?" Sonic retorted swiftly.

"You're not exactly helping to protect people by jumping into a fight each time you meet with those crooks, moron!" Shadow growled, his vibrant crimson eyes locked onto Sonic. "If you haven't noticed by now, there would be a lot less damage if you'd take some time to think things through. This isn't Eggman we're up against! They're not in this just to cause trouble – they're after something much, much bigger."

Thinking on the black hedgehog's words, Sonic quickly became quiet. But, the silence was soon interrupted by a loud crash, and then, the power died out. The duo each dropped roughly to the ground, thankful to finally be free. However, they were equally curious as to what happened that freed them. As if running off of one mind, the twins smashed through the door, witnessing a figure launch past them in a streak of white. Taking it as their sign, the duo raced after the figure.

Within seconds, they found themselves in the main conference room, where the door had already been broken down. Within, a group of soldiers had surrounded the massive table in the center of the room, each of their sights aimed at the cloaked figure in the middle. In the corner, Shadow noticed that Athana was still tied up and her mouth taped. Shadow turned his attention to Shrike, who stood confidently on the ground in front of the hooded intruder.

"So he sent one of his lackeys, did he?" the buck remarked with amusement. "Or are you the real leader?"

"I've been sent to retrieve the Twilight Key that you are in possession of," the figure explained. "Surrender it, or I'll be forced to exterminate this entire building."

"Wait, I know that voice." The cloaked figure turned his attention to Sonic, his dark crimson eyes glaring at the hero.

"So you _are _here," the figure mused with interest. "My loathsome copy."

**Location: Space Colony ARK**

"I thought you said you knew how to control that thing, Espio?" Vector moaned, leaning against the wall.

"I'm gonna be sick..." Charmy murmured, holding a hand over his mouth.

The purple chameleon simply lifted his nose to the air in embarrassment, walking ahead of his sickly team mates. Charmy groaned and held his stomach, trying to regain himself after their near death experience. The dully lit hallway of the ARK was filled with the gentle hum of the lights above, providing the team with little distractions. After their moment to recuperate, the Chaotix regrouped at the end of the hallway leading from the hangar.

"This place is creepy," the young bee stammered, his eyes darting around to every shadow he came across.

"Charmy, there's no one up here," Espio sighed. "This place has been left untouched since Shadow defeated Black Doom."

Traversing the corridors, the trio found themselves walking deeper into the darkness of the colony. The hallways started growing larger, as well as an increased number of emergency lock-down doors. Finally they reached the upper decks of the facility, which had been marked as the living quarters on the directory. Charmy stared curiously at the posters on the elevator they were riding in, amused by the 1950's art sported on it. The lights flickered within the elevator car, and then the door slid open to reveal a wide open room. Cautiously the trio walked out into the darkness, only to have a dozen floor lights flash to life, illuminating the brilliant observatory. Around them they could see the depths of space, and the blue planet they fought so desperately to save.

"It's beautiful," Vector mumbled in awe with Charmy perched on his shoulder.

However, Espio took it upon himself to find a way into the next section of the colony, and eagerly beckoned them over. With a couple last glances at the sight, the trio made their way into the next hallway, allowing the lights in the observatory to turn off, and the lights in the hallway to turn on.

A feeling of dread washed over them as they walked past the blood stains left behind from the killed scientists. Doors leading into rooms had been busted down, allowing passage into dark rooms – something Charmy had no desire to explore.

"I guess that whole conspiracy about Project Shadow was true," Vector remarked just before they walked through another door.

As before, the lights turned on, this time presenting them with a laboratory of sorts. The ceiling had to be nearly ten feet high, and although the room was heavily lit, there still seemed to be a sense of darkness at the far end of the lab. The trio walked deeper into the room quietly, drawn towards a gentle hum in the distance.

In front of them they found five dimly lit capsules. From their distance, however, it was impossible to tell what was inside, urging them closer to investigate what exactly was within the room besides them. The closer they crept, the more they could see the five sleeping beings within their respective prison. In awe, Charmy hovered forward, eager to get a better look.

"I wouldn't touch those if I were you," a voice called out from behind them, causing the trio to spin around.

Once they got a clear look at the man, Vector realized who he was. "How'd _you _get up here?" he bellowed, jabbing a finger out at the man.

Simply dawning a grin, the jackal ran his fingers through his messy, silvery hair. "See those capsules behind you? Well I've been ordered to watch over them from time to time. You may think that I'm some fiend or...somethin', but really I'm just paying my debts. What I should really be asking is why _you _three are up here?"

"A good detective always sees any lead he has through. And this," Vector commented, pointing his thumb over his shoulder. "This is our lead."

"Well said, croc. But you know, I think it's only fair to warn you that your efforts are pretty much useless." Havoc sighed, sitting on a table with his feet propped on a rickety chair. "Really, what do you three expect to do even if you did find something out up here? Those aren't the real threat right now, and from the way I see it, your world is in more danger than you realize. We're a peaceful group, not a terrorist organization. If we wanted to destroy the world, wouldn't we have done it already? Don't you think there's more?"

Remaining quiet, Vector absorbed the jackals words. Perhaps they were looking in the wrong direction? Noticing a concerned look from his comrades, Vector shook his thoughts away until later, when he had the time to sort out what was really going on. Right now, he had to focus on what was in front of him. It was clear that if this man had wanted to escape, or kill them, he could easily do so. But there had to be a reason that jackal was sticking around. And it definitely wasn't for petty conversation.

"Who do you work for then?" the detective asked, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "I've realized now that you aren't the leader of everything going on down there."

With a snicker, Havoc clapped his hands together, showing that he was pleased with the question Vector had asked. "Very good, although I had hoped you realize it sooner. Anyway, I'm a part of a much larger piece of this puzzle. That group down on your home, we call them Phase 1. They're the underlings. Our fodder, basically. Essentially, I work for the people. I'm not here to cause trouble, or anything like that. Like you, I dream of a peaceful world, rid of war and chaos. I'm just helping a group with a common interest achieve that goal."

"Work for the _people?_ You sure are a bit delusional! How can you say that when you endorse killing and endangering innocent lives!" Espio retorted. "If you meant what you said, you'd work with _us_ and stop all this. Ever since you people have shown up, there's nothing but conflict and strife!"

"That may be true, but have you stopped to ask yourself where the strife comes from?" The question came so quickly, and so simply, that Espio wasn't sure what to say. "I'm the right hand man of the man who's seeing everything through. Since he's not around right now to do things himself, it's become my job to make sure everything goes according to plan. Although our goal is for peace, I've realized that some within our group seek otherwise. But no matter, they won't get far."

"You're talking about this ... Phase 1, aren't you?" Vector pondered. "If you guys have a hierarchy, who's the leader of this first group?"

"That would be Galaxy Sieryu. Son of the great Darius the XIV and brother to the famous – or infamous, depending on how you look at it – Hex Sieryu. I have no doubt in my mind you and your friends can handle him."

"Why are ya' helpin' us if you're with the bad guys?" Charmy wondered curiously.

"Maybe we're not the bad guys you should be fighting, kid," Havoc replied with a sincere smile. "Although we have the same goal, we're just following it through in different ways."

With a quick glance at the capsules behind the Chaotix, the jackal leaped off of the table and stretched his arms. "Is that why you're helping us?" The mysterious jackal pondered Vectors question for a moment, staring into space as he did so.

"I believe you three will become a big part in this battle of ideals. It'll be interesting to see how things play out with you guys snooping around," Havoc replied, hardly answering the question. "But I have to go, and like I said, you three are searching in the wrong spot right now. I'm sure we'll meet again, unfortunately, it won't always be friendly conversation."

"What's your name?" Vector called out quickly.

To this, the jackal stopped before the door, the light from it opening casting a long shadow behind him. "I guess you deserve as much. My name is Havoc," he responded, then walked through the door waving his hand. "Ciao."

"So what now, Vec?" Charmy asked with a heavy sigh. "I really thought we'd be the heroes and end everything up here...guess not."

"I guess the best thing to do now is to keep searching. Maybe there's some sort of message from Eggman up here, like the one we saw down by Capital?" Espio piped up. "Let's look for the computer room!"

With a chuckle, Vector agreed, and the trio made their way back through the massive space colony. But they couldn't but feel the five figures they saw in the capsules they had found would turn into a problem later on.

"_Our ideals are only as strong as our will." ~ Agatha Robotnik – Wife to Gerald Robotnik/Chaos Physicist, 1945_

_**To be Continued**  
_

**Authors Note~ **A lot of talking this chapter...But, things are nicely being set out for us! Anyone catch the little joke I made with Vector? As usual, leave your comments, tips and theories in a review! Thanks, and see you all next time!


	38. Chapter 38: Confrontation

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 38: Confrontation**

"_Fear of death has been the greatest ally of tyranny."_

**Location: GUN Central Command, Capital City**

"So you _are _here," the figure mused with interest. "My loathsome copy."

A chill ran up the blue heroes spine, causing him to shiver. He had never expected to meet with Metal after Eggman died, but he had learned by now that he usually didn't get what he wanted.

"Interesting," Shrike remarked, turquoise energy vibrating off his body. "I want you to take me to your commander, or the girl dies!"

In a flash of light, Athana appeared in the bucks arm, a blade of psychic energy pressed up to her throat. A devious grin made its way onto his lips, as he watched Metal intently.

"I'm here for the Twilight Key, not her."

Suddenly a shock wave shot forth from Metal, launching both Sonic and Shadow back against the wall. Then the mechanical hedgehog disappeared in a flash of electricity and appeared behind the GUN Commander, his claws pressed against the buck's neck.

"Surrender it, or I kill you," Metal growled.

Shrike smirked, letting his hostage stagger out of his grip. "It seems you're out of luck. Because the key you're looking for isn't on me at the moment."

A pulse of energy ran up the bucks body, and as he spun around, a hammer of psychic energy formed off his fist. Metal quickly threw his arms up, but the attack proved to be too much. Rings of light formed from the impact, and the mechanical hedgehog bounced across the floor. Shrike turned his attention to Sonic and Shadow, who had taken it upon themselves to knock out the soldiers within the room.

"You two are definitely becoming a nuisance." Shrike sighed, and snapped his fingers.

The hedgehog trio watched as the table let out a cloud of smoke, allowing it to rise upwards to reveal Omega. Shadow watched his friend rise up from the ground, his crimson eyes wide in shock. He didn't have a good feeling about this.

"_So that's where he's keeping the Key," _Metal thought, his scanners locked onto the weapon.

Shrike remained stationary, watching smugly at the situation playing out before him. Surely victory would be his.

"What have you done to Omega, Shrike?" Shadow barked angrily, crimson energy rippling off his body like flames.

The powerful man simply laughed and watched as the robot started up. Wires and tubing fell off of Omega, allowing the mech to walk forwards. Realizing his friend no longer recognized him, Shadow came to realize what had happened. A feeling of sorrow washed over him, as he watched the robot stomp forwards.

"Initiate battle sequences, Omega," Shrike ordered quickly, realizing that Metal had recovered.

Instantly the bulky fighter spun around to lock onto Metal, and from the robot's wide arms came a variety of projectiles, each locked onto the mechanical copy. Electricity darted down the Dusk agent's arms and claws, and as if he were slicing through butter, Metal shot through the storm of attacks and dug his claw into the chest of Omega. The powerful military weapon sparked and twitched from the sudden impact to his circuits, but Metal didn't seem phased. Suddenly the mechanical copy ripped his claw free from Omega, the small orb nestled in his claw. With his mission fulfilled, Metal disappeared in a fizzling burst of electricity, and then reappeared at the doorway, only to shoot down the halls.

"Can you handle this, Shadow?" Sonic asked quietly, ready to race off after his nemesis.

"Yeah." He nodded, staring at the malfunctioning Omega.

He knew what this was coming to. As much as he didn't want to touch or harm his friend – despite Omega being a robot – Shadow knew he'd have to. Suddenly the mech stopped moving and twitching, and remained still and quiet. Behind the robot, Shrike stood confidently, aware of the situation at hand. Energy sizzled down the black hedgehog's arm, while a fire like aura of violet and crimson energy curled away from his body. In a flash of light, Shadow appeared behind Omega with his attack ready. The dark hedgehog shut his eyes and then plunged the powerful attack through Omega's abdomen. Sparks leaped away from the impact, and as the beast of weapon struggled, Shadow asserted more power to his attack.

Finally the robot stopped moving. The black hedgehog pulled his hand free of the hole he had created, allowing his former team mate to fall to the ground.

"I didn't think you had the guts to do it, soldier," Shrike commented.

With a flaring temper, Shadow turned around to face his former leader. "You don't have to call me that anymore, Shrike," he retorted calmly, but his eyes spoke the opposite. "I no longer work for you. Consider this my resignation. Next time we meet, we'll be enemies."

Then, without any hesitation, Shadow disappeared. Screams of horror and pain reverberated down the halls, gunfire following close behind. Shrike sneered and stormed through the door after the dark hedgehog. His tolerance for failure was quickly beginning to dwindle, and he'd have to put a stop to it this instant.

**Location: Regal Beach, Empire City**

Sand shot upwards from Metal's thrusters, and Sonic slid through the violent storm of debris, just missing his nemesis. Metal hovered in the sky above his copy, and then launched ahead through the sky in a flash of purple light. Biting his lip, Sonic raced off after the mechanical hedgehog, avoiding each attack Eggman's creation threw at him. Water splashed in front of him, and through it came Metal's electrified claw. Sonic quickly ducked downwards, and in his palm an orb of condensed Chaos Energy sprung to life. Sonic quickly smashed the attack into Metal's frame, launching the copy backwards through the sand and water.

"How are you still alive?" Sonic yelled. "Is the Doctor still alive? He's leading this attack, isn't he?"

After regaining himself, Metal stood up, sand falling off of his armour. "The fat man is dead, Sonic. He simply had a back up ready in case he did die at your hands. If you think you can win you're sadly mistaken."

A burst of electricity shot free from the mechanical hedgehog's body as he launched towards the blue hero. Sonic quickly jumped to the left, avoiding a powerful punch, then rolled under Metal's kick. The mechanical hedgehog continued his assault, his fists flying towards Sonic like lightning. However, the blue hero's reflexes proved to be an equal match, and moved in between the punches in flashes of blue. The blue hero jumped back, to avoid an electrical charged punch from his copy, but failed to notice that Metal had disappeared in the flash his attack created.

Sonic spun around just in time to meet Metal, whom grasped the hedgehog's throat and lifted him upwards. The blue hero kicked fiercely, trying to free himself from the titan holding him.

"You're losing your touch, Sonic." Metal stated, staring into the blue hero's eyes.

"I don't want to fight you anymore, Metal." Sonic coughed, gasping for air.

Growing silent, the mechanical beast viciously threw his nemesis to the ground. With a pained grunt, Sonic fought to move back to his feet, but Metal wouldn't allow it. Everything ended here, and he wouldn't allow his copy to get up and run away like he always had.

"It all ends here, Sonic," Metal explained, electricity charging around his claw. "Every unfinished meeting, every fight, everything ends here. Today you die!"

Black storm clouds begun to swirl in the sky, causing the ocean to roar and surge. Waves lapped the shores, threatening to swallow anything up that came too close. Sonic watched the sky turn dark. He watched the lightning bolts light up the sky like light bulbs burning out over and over again. His heart beat faithfully in his chest, pumping blood throughout his body, perhaps the last of his heart beats were near too. For some reason, he was at peace with the idea of dying. If Shadow was right, if all he did was cause pain when he tried to help, then wouldn't it benefit the world?

Electricity danced and jumped around the duo, the sand turning a faint blue along with everything around them. Metal leered down at Sonic, slowly raising an electrified hand to the sky. Arcs of light pulled at the mechanical copies hand, as it lifted further from the ground. Long and violent bursts of lightning erupted from Metal's claw, which were followed by loud cracks of thunder. The sky seemed to pulse with electricity, as the clouds swirled in on themselves. Electrical arches darted across the sky, and then Metal's body lit up.

And as if Metal were a conductor, a massive shaft of electricity shot down from the sky in an instant.

Light consumed their vision, and the burning pain of the unreal heat produced by the natural phenomena seemed to fade away instantaneously. But Sonic smiled nonetheless.

**Location: Unknown**

Feeling a rush of cold air move past him, Sonic opened his eyes. Confusion filled his mind, but he quickly realized where he was. The sky shifted and churned through violet, black and gold. Ruins of the places he had travelled filled the landscape, and Sonic turned his head to gather knowledge of his surroundings. Broken segments of rolling hills and pathways seemed to surround him, leading into a crumbling city filled with what looked to be water. The blue hero grunted and stood up, looking around to figure where he might be.

"Of course." He grinned, and stretched his arms. "It's been awhile since I've seen South Island and the Green Hills."

However, the nostalgia seemed to disappear as he realized there was a reason he was brought back here. The blue hero looked around, trying to look for a pathway that would lead to his _other _as he'd come to label it as. Stepping forward cautiously, the blue hero paused as his surroundings spun away into nothing, quickly being replaced by an isle of broken black and gold pillars. Ahead, he could see a glowing life form. Aware of who he was meeting again, Sonic walked along the violet pathway, and stopped in front of the figure, realizing it to be himself.

"Why'd you bring me here again?" Sonic asked calmly, ready for anything by this point.

The beast snickered in amusement, causing everything around them to spin away into nothing, leaving only darkness. Once more, two solid, orbs of violet appeared and stared at Sonic. A chill ran up the hero's spine, but he knew he couldn't show any fear. Not now. Two glowing horns materialized once more, lighting up the dark with a golden white light. The blue hero stepped back slightly, trying to distance himself from the monster. However, as he did so, he felt the presence appear behind him. The horns pressed against his back, and then a cold breath slithered along his neck.

"I told you I wouldn't let you keep me locked up much longer, boy," it growled, retaining a fanged grin. "You are but a spec of light in comparison to me. You can't ever hope to keep me locked away forever."

"I'm doing it, aren't I?" Sonic retorted, standing still.

"But right now you're dead," the beast replied quickly, a smile on its face. "Nothing is keeping me at bay."

He grew silent from the beast's words, unsure of what to think. "You fought hard to learn how to keep me under control, to the point of even distancing yourself from your friends and loved ones after yo- .. _we, _defeated Robotnik."

"You killed him, not me," Sonic murmured.

"It was your will, boy," it snickered. "But now, there's nothing keeping me from taking over. Unless you think you can stop me?"

"I can, and have been," the blue hero retaliated, squeezing his fists tightly.

"Have you forgotten already? You're dead! Just a rotting lump of flesh soon to be in the ground. But I'm not dead. I can use your body as I please."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Sonic asked, spinning around in fear.

**Location: Regal Beach, Empire City**

Metal had long since forgotten about the mangled and burnt body of his enemy, and retreated from the crater his attack created. Gleaming crimson eyes stared forth through the downpour, void of anything. He had finally succeeded in his goal – the very thing he was created to do – but yet there was nothing. He felt nothing, thought nothing and above all, lacked everything. Rows of data shot past his optical sensors, displaying the things he should be feeling in his success.

_Happiness._

_Enjoyment._

_Pleasure._

_Success._

Yet here he was, the same as before. But he should have realized this variable long ago – the fact that he hadn't seemed to..._bother_him. The metallic hedgehog stood quietly on the shores of the ocean, watching the cascading waves roll closer to the beach. Thunder shook the heavens occasionally, as the rain washed the blood from his dead nemesis into the ocean. Water dripped off of Metal, cleaning his armour. The robot moved his silvery claw in front of his optics, strings of data and specs on the limb appearing in front of him instantly. Frustrated, Metal pulled his hand from view, wondering what this achievement would feel like had he been a living thing. Why did it feel so lackluster?

Then there was movement, or the sound of it. Metal turned his attention to the distraction, finding a strange presence with him. The mechanical hedgehog walked back towards the crater he had left the blue hero in, only to find a pool of bubbling black ooze beneath the dead hero. Unable to identify the anomaly through his sensors, Metal could do nothing more but watch. Smoke seemed to billow off of the blue hero, as the ooze soaked into his body. Black glyphs wrote themselves across the hedgehog's left arm and ribcage, steam rising from the characters. White and purple particles seemed to fill the air, until finally collecting on the hero's body.

Never had Metal seen something like this. There was no way that he was still alive!

The particles of light shifting in the air collected around Sonic's forehead, spinning around to create two jagged, bull-like horns from his temples. More of the light particles started to move across his lower jaw, creating a fanged outline of a skeletal structure. The horns slowly elongated, coming to full form as more of the particles created another bone like structure around the hero's entire face.

Watching quietly, Metal brought up the blue hedgehog's data collection, noticing his life force had shot through the roof. His heart beat had hit 200 beats per minute, and Sonic's chaos reserves were quadrupling each second. Lightning glistened across Metal once more, as he prepared for what was to come. A beastly roar erupted from the crater, followed instantaneously by a vicious dome of crimson and black energy. Metal quickly jumped back, narrowly avoiding a destructive punch from the transformed hero.

Rubble lifted into the air from the impact, before being vaporized by another dome of light. Metal slid backwards from a slab of earth falling, and then quickly launched into the sky, electricity dancing around his claw. Sonic snarled demonically, two orbs of violet light glowing from behind the eye holes in the bone-like mask on his face. The glyphs on his body had lit up with a golden light, seemingly pulsing the second he jumped at Metal. A typhoon of energy particles spun around him, obliterating the ground and forming another crater. Metal quickly brought his arms up to guard himself from his nemesis' attack. A ring of light exploded from the impact, and with it, Sonic also disappeared. Using his sharp audio trackers, Metal Sonic turned his attention upwards, where Sonic descended on him with a small, black orb of energy rotating in his hand.

"So this is the power Doctor Robotnik was after," Metal commented, grasping the blue hero's attack hand.

The attack charged within the hedgehog's hand died out, as a shockwave of a similarly colored energy burst free from the dark hero. Metal shot away from the release of power, but never took his gaze from his foe. Energy smoked off of Sonic, dying his fur an inky black. The glyphs grew brighter, beginning to climb across his neck and chest. Sonic launched towards his enemy like a streak of lightning, and grappled the mechanical hedgehog's shoulder, only to throw the mech down into the sand. Just as Metal collided with the ground, Sonic roared out in a distorted voice, and unleashed a blast of energy from in between his horns. The small sphere launched down through the debris filled air, and erupted.

Light expanded across the beach, pushing away the water and digging into the ground. Sonic then let out another blood curdling roar and descended down on his prey, diving through the field of light just as it died out. However as visibility returned, a chunk of rock met with Sonic's fist, erupting into a storm of rock. Metal then followed up and launched through the debris and smashed his fist into Sonic's face. Particles of light glistened away from the structure around the hero's face, showing the strike had chipped the armour. However as quickly as it had happened, the mask regenerated and Sonic let out a growl.

Metal quickly ducked below a right hook, and smashed his palm up into the blue hero's torso, unleashing an explosive force of electricity. Sonic shot back up into the sky, but Metal quickly grabbed hold of the whip of Chaos Energy that he had created on Sonic. The mechanical hedgehog quickly tugged back on the whip, and then formed a blade of electricity from his other hand. Sonic screeched in fear, or what Metal hoped to be, and struggled against the whip. A wide, sizzling arc of electricity launched through the sky, piercing Sonic and exploding to launch him to the ground.

Dust puffed upwards from Sonic, the sand moving around his figure as he squirmed at Metal's feet. Steam rolled off the hero's belly, but Metal knew this wasn't the end. Watching the blood burn up and turn to smoke, Metal quickly grabbed the recovering hero, unaware of the energy gathering in his horns once more. Before the mechanical hedgehog could retreat, Sonic grinned wide, and unleashed the compact orb of light.

Energy launched upwards all around them, reaching for the sky. The fiery devastation soon spun into a dome of light, creating rings of light that extended up to the heavens. Within the dome, thousands upon thousands of golden specs formed, creating spears of energy to penetrate Metal from all angles. From inside, Sonic screeched hellishly, bringing the sounds and sights from the underworld itself to earth. Finally the dome disappeared into a gust of wind, and from where the attack had been, a crater replaced, allowing water to fill it ever so slowly.

Metal lay on a slab of rock, which acted as a bed. Sonic knelt over the defeated copy, his horns piercing the rock beside Metals head. The LED eyes that once lit up the abyss of darkness in the beasts eyes now fizzled in and out. The impenetrable armour that once lined a fearless warrior had now been mangled and destroyed, exposing circuitry and computing systems. Sonic huffed each breath, beginning to lose himself to the power he was displaying. Slowly a long, reptilian tail begun to form from golden particles of energy, creating a transparent image. Sonic snarled at his foe, unaware of the water levels rising to swallow them up.

"So, you..." Metal attempted, glitching through his words. "You are the stronger copy."

"This is the end," Sonic growled. "I win."

With that, the dark hedgehog reeled his fist back, allowing a cloaking of dark energy to cover it. Unleashing another scream with his distorted voice, Sonic punched through Metal's head, sending machinery, wires and sparks flying every which way. Sonic heaved in breaths, and then jumped out of the crater, watching as water filled it.

However, his heart suddenly lurched, and pain shot through his body. Each heart beat seemed to throw fire through his veins. Sonic roared and clutched his chest, the black energy covering his fur turning to smoke along with the faint form of his tail and the structures on his head. The glyphs quickly receded back into his skin, and the blue fur that everyone knew him by appeared just before he fell to the dirt.

"_Our selfishness has been the destruction of humanity itself." ~ Isaiah Black, GUN Experiment, 1967_

**To Be Continued**

**Authors Note~ **How'd everyone enjoy this chapter? Please leave your theories, comments and tips in a review! Seeya!


	39. Chapter 39: The Brink

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 39: The Brink**

"_An eye for an eye only ends up in making the whole world blind."_

**Location: Eggman's Abandoned Base, Mazuri Volcano**

A trio of footsteps hurried through the thick jungle, though despite the various sounds of lurking wild life, and possible predators, the group continued their haste. Rain dripped sparingly through the thick blanket of foliage above, adding to the already moist atmosphere they traversed through. Leading the way with a bright LED light mounted to his cannon, Tails seemed to lurch at any suspicious sound that they encountered, his legs trembling gently from his anxiety. However, the more nature orientated Knuckles casually followed up behind Mighty, easily swatting away large vines and branches, unshaken by the creatures living on the vegetation.

After hours of thick trees and steep slopes, a clearing finally made itself present before the trio. Standing tall and mighty on the exterior of the jungle, the Mazuri Volcano served as a mark of power, greatly respected by the tribes that lived within the jungle and in the adjacent savannah. Plumes of thick, black smoke billowed high above the mouth of the structure, proving its might to the continent. Though it had been five years since they had been here, the trio remembered Doctor Robotnik's base all too well. Their nostalgia fuelled even more by the mounds of scrapped and malfunctioned robot soldiers.

"So now where do we go?" Mighty wondered, admiring the ruins of a town preserved in the mountain side. "It doesn't look like there's a stairway we can take up there."

"I know Eggman wouldn't build a base without having exit routes all around," Tails replied absentmindedly, observing the architecture hoping to find a secret elevator shaft. "It wouldn't be like Eggman to have a headquarters without a strategy for escape in case Sonic and I came through and foiled his plans. It's just a matter of thinking like him in order to find it. Now if I were an eggshaped scientist, where would I have my escape route...?"

A heavy and annoyed sigh left Knuckles as he leaned back against a tree, watching his team mates scrounge around for whatever opening they could find. His violet eyes turned up to the sky, watching the heavy smoke mix in with the dark clouds overhead. Then, a shiver ran up his spine, to which he simply shook off and stretched. Before long, a loud clank echoed throughout the jungle, causing a flock of exotic birds to flee from their nests in the trees. A long, glyph decorated wall slid down into the ground, leading the way into a dark corridor lined with Eggman's signature insignia.

"Viola!" Tails exclaimed with a smirk, but his face quickly fell pale. "H-hey, Knuckles, wanna lead the way...?"

"Don't tell me you're scared of a few spiders," Knuckles grumbled, swatting away the web blocking the way. "They're much more afraid of us than we are of them."

Tails gulped, staring at the inky corners of the entrance. "Speak for yourself..." he murmured nervously.

"This tunnel isn't that long, I can already see some sort of exit." Mighty pointed out, bringing everyone's attention to the faint glow not too far ahead.

After a couple minutes of walking, the trio reached the source of light, finding it to be another door, but this one seemed to be clad with much fancier tech. Tails squeezed past his larger comrades, and examined the door, noticing the green and yellow glow coming from the two cylinders on each side. After stroking his chin, Tails typed in a few letters into the touch pad screen on the door, allowing the liquid in the cylinders to rush onto the design marked on the door, which was none other than Eggman's face.

"How'd you know the password?" Mighty asked in awe, walking into the elevator behind the other two.

"I've had to break into countless of his bases. He always uses the same password!" Tails admitted with a sheepish grin. "For a man as brilliant as Doctor Robotnik, you'd think he'd use something other than "password" for his bases."

Their chuckles of amusement were suddenly cut off by a sudden, powerful movement of the elevator. A row of LED dots on the door lit up one by one, until finally reaching the last very quickly. The door once again opened, revealing the core of the Doctor's base. Feeling more like they had entered a time machine than an elevator car, the trio stepped out into the elegantly lit chamber, in awe of the various computer screens adorning the walls around them. Although many of the screens were shattered, several remained in tact, displaying schematics and data for Eggman's various projects. Tails wandered up to one of the screens still working, and stared up at the schematics.

"He must have been hiding out here for a long time," Tails remarked with intrigue. "This is a schematic for his Egg Dragoon that Sonic fought with Chip!"

"I guess this was his back up for when you and Sonic stopped all of his schemes." Knuckles assumed, walking around the desks and picking through the various potato chip bags and soda cans. "The Doctor really didn't eat too healthy, did he?"

"A man as busy as he was really wouldn't have time to cook gourmet meals. I'd imagine he spent a lot of his time in here or his labs tinkering with his robots," Tails replied distantly, scrolling through the database on one of the computers.

"Kinda like you?" Mighty sniggered, patting the young fox on the back.

With a sarcastic chuckle, Tails continued to search through the database, his eyes reflecting the colours of the screen. "There has to be something on here..."

"Shouldn't we be searching for the next key?" Knuckles stated while he impatiently crossed his arms.

"You guys go on ahead. I want to finish looking through his files. There could be something written down about the Keys that he found before he died." Tails replied, his fingers gliding over the keyboard.

"If you say so," Mighty remarked, his face displaying a hint of concern. "Just call us on your communicator if something comes up."

With a nod from their companion, the former Chaotix ran down into the corridor connecting the rooms of the base. Astonishingly, the building remained lit up and as energetic as they had remembered, much to Knuckles' surprise. Doors passed by one by one, leading to nothing of their particular interest, however as they neared the end of the hall, a larger door caught their attention. The duo quickly came to a halt and eyed up the massive door. It's size seemed to dwarf the duo with its height.

"How are we supposed to get into this one?" Mighty wondered whilst stroking his chin. "We don't exactly have Tails to hack us into it the room, plus this entry doesn't have a keypad for a password."

Knuckles stared at the door with an intense gaze, a suspicious expression forming on his face. "This looks newer than the rest of the building."

"We still don't have a way in, Knux," Mighty sighed.

However, with a frustrated groan, followed by a loud crash, the door toppled over. Smoke and embers jumped up from the gaping hole now found on the dense material, while Knuckles simply walked over it, gazing into the room. Though left unattended and unused for over five years, the base seemed as though it had been maintained daily. At the far wall, a simple pedestal stood amongst the various computer monitors. A glass dome arched over the surface, encasing a small, crystal sphere within. The pulsating energy of the artifact seemed to ripple off of the inside of the glass like smoke.

"Guess we found what we're looking for, Mighty!" the scarlet echidna remarked with a grin, turning the communicator around his wrist on. "Yo, Tails, we found that artifact, get over here!"

"Great! I found some useful information on the Doctor's computer! I'll be there as soon as it's done uploading to L.I.N.C!"

"Make it quick!"

Sure enough, the heroes couldn't remain in the glory. From the high roof of the dome-shaped room, a figure dropped down in front of the duo. His white cloak seemed to give off electricity, until finally it burned off, revealing a slim bodied lion, with noticeably brilliant yellow fur. The black lightning markings along his arms and neck seemed to pulse with power, giving his electrifying turquoise eyes a subtle illumination. Surge let out a brief yawn, and unzipped his vest slightly, walking towards the heroes. Knuckles grunted and stepped back in defence, unsure of what to expect.

"What are _you _doing here?" the echidna growled, realizing this was the man who had snatched the Master Emerald. "Ready to give back _**my **_Emerald?"

"It's been in good hands, why would you want it back?" the lion retorted simply, showing signs of utmost confusion by Knuckles hostility.

"Who is this clown, Knux?" Mighty whispered curiously to his friend. "He doesn't look that tough."

"Don't let your guard down," replied the Guardian. "He's incredibly powerful, even though he may not look like it."

Electricity seemed to dance off the floor, and run into the various electronics surrounding the trio. In turn, the lights became brighter, and the machines within the room seemed to run at a higher capacity than before. However, Surge stood almost impassive, his eyes failing to show any emotion but rather full out laziness. Yawning once more, Surge covered his mouth discretely, and then turned around to walk to the pedestal.

"I'm flattered, Knuckles," he remarked casually. "But I really don't have time to waste on the likes of you. We already had a scuffle back on your island, and look how that turned out."

The young lion grasped the edges of the glass protecting the orb from the outside world and lifted it up, allowing it to smash to the floor. Waiting briefly for any security features, Surge grasped the sphere in his palm and turned back to face his foe, who had begun charging a large amount of Chaos Energy into his fists, while Mighty prepared to back the echidna up. Orbs of light resembling embers slowly rose up from Knuckles, his fists beginning to glow red while the energy gathered around his namesakes.

"My, my," Surge responded with minor intrigue. "You sure look angry."

"You don't know the half of it!"

With a mighty roar, Knuckles smashed his fist into the ground, igniting a violent explosion. A wave of fiery energy ripped apart the ground in a sweeping wave of devastation, destroying anything in its path. Machines and papers became vaporized by the intensity, but a flash of electricity darted through the attack, splitting it in two. A flash of light appeared in front of Knuckles, and Surge grinned, his hand balling into a fist a split second before crashing into the echidna's throat. The impact shot Knuckles backwards, and up into the air, to which Surge took the opportunity to once again warp to the guardians location and deliver another crushing blow. Electricity danced up from the lions former location, while Mighty quickly turned his attention to the crushing blow against the upper wall of the room.

"You may exceed in strength, echidna," Surge whispered tauntingly. "But I'm much, _**much**_ faster."

Planting his boot on the wall, Surge heaved Knuckles away and threw him to the ground, allowing him to slide through a multitude of mechanical devices and tables.

"Knux!" Mighty shouted, beginning to rush to his comrades aid.

"Don't let him escape, Mighty! We can't lose that artifact!" Knuckles shouted angrily, whilst wincing from the strain of standing.

With a nod, the armadillo turned his sights to the grinning lion, whom simply waved and warped down the hallway in a flash of yellow energy. Gulping, Mighty focused his energy to his feet and dashed after him, his speed unusually amplified for his bulkiness. Strings of yellow, electric flashes lit up the dark corridors, leading the way to the volcanic exterior that surrounded the base. Mighty grunted and quickly smashed his fist through a malfunctioned worker drone, causing parts to scatter across the entry way. With no time to think, Mighty once again charged energy to his fist and smashed through the front door, and ran into the unreal heat of the volcano, to which Surge stood aloof, waiting for him.

"You must really want this, huh?" Surge remarked, admiring the luminescent orb.

"Exactly why I'll get it back!" Mighty retorted, clenching his fists.

"I'm waiting," the lion replied in a sing-song voice.

Growling in frustration, Mighty dashed toward his opponent, his fist glowing with a dazzling green energy. The armadillo quickly jumped in the air and reeled his arm back, charging as much power he could into his punch. Noticing the sheer power of the attack, Surge flipped backwards, and pushed off with his hands to vault away from the attack just before collision. Slabs of cement and metal shot upwards, becoming disfigured and distorted from the might of the punch. Waves of green energy rolled off the surface left unscathed by the attack, pushing away debris and dust from the epicentre.

Surge, however landed on a pillar lining the runway leading to the base, and then warped into the centre of the destruction in a flash of light. Mighty yelped as a fist collided with his cheek, knocking him off balance and staggering backwards. Using the opportunity, Surge quickly spun around and swung his leg out, smashing his heel against Mighty's shoulder. The armadillo stumbled to the left, falling to his knee as Surge flipped over top of the traveller and delivered another kick to his back, sending the hero sliding through upturned slabs of concrete and metal.

"You'll never defeat me with that sluggish fighting style," Surge explained calmly, warping onto one of the taller slabs to gain a better view of the battlefield.

"Then how about mine?"

Shock washed across Surge's face as he spun around to meet a flaming fist head on. A vortex of energy erupted from the impact, and then a dome of explosive power swallowed up the lion for only a split second before launching him through several concrete slabs, before violently crashing into the ground. Knuckles dropped through the air and fell to his knee upon landing, just as a wave of debris cleared, allowing him to see Surge standing amidst the destruction.

"That was a good hit," the lion admitted, touching the scorched hole in his apparel and examining his blood. "If I hadn't activated my warp technique, that woulda taken off my head for sure."

"Now, Mighty!"

Turning his attention behind him, the lion found himself faced with a gigantic spear of rock held above Mighty's head. Veins seemed to pop out of the armadillos biceps and neck as he heaved the humongous chunk of earth towards the Dusk agent. A spiralling vortex of wind swirled around the tip of the spear as it picked up speed, aimed directly at the nonchalant lion. Surge quickly vaulted backwards in flashes of light, allowing the spear to break apart the runway more than it already had been, causing a tremor to rip through the concrete.

"That was a good idea, I'll admit." Surge examined the damage the attack had done, his tail swaying while he sat down on one of the few pillars left standing. "You would've benefited from using that as a long range attack. Something that big needs time to build up velocity, so it was pretty easy to counter. It was nice sparring with you two, but I have to get going. Seeya."

In another flash of light, the lion reappeared on top of the radio tower lining the mouth of the volcano, and then disappeared. However, Tails quickly dashed through the entrance of the base, only to stop in surprise with what await him.

"Woah, what happened out here?" he muttered, pulling the liquid substance he called L.I.N.C off of his wrist.

"One of those crooks escaped with the Twilight Key, unfortunately," Mighty explained amidst pained groans as he stretched his arms. "How could someone be _that _fast! We couldn't touch him with anything we threw at him!"

"My Deep Impact didn't even work on him. It's like he went right through it," Knuckles grumbled in frustration, holding his scorched hand.

"We'd better get back to the Workshop so I can patch you guys up – besides, I recovered some schematics and journal entries from the Doctor's systems. He really went out of his way to make sure no one found what he was working on!"

With mutual nods to retreat for the time being, the trio hastily made their way back through the base. However, despite the loss, they couldn't help but feel they were losing much, much more.

**Location: Regal Beach, Empire City**

The blue hero groaned deeply, rubbing his head as he peered into the sunlight above. All around, scrap parts sparked, and the sound of rushing water quickly filled his ears. Another groan left his mouth, and Sonic pushed himself to his feet, hardly able to stand from the damage he had sustained in his battle against Metal.

Wait, Metal. That's right, he had fought Metal Sonic.

"Where did he go?" Sonic thought, looking around, oblivious of the mechanical parts around him.

_You destroyed him, boy!_

"What do you mean!" Sonic shouted, knowing all too well who the voice in his head belonged to.

_Well, actually, I did. But you were dead. You're welcome, by the way._

"And what exactly should I be thanking you for**, ugly?**" Sonic scowled.

_If it weren't for me, you'd be a burnt up hunk of flesh. Heh, I guess you have a stronger will than I expected! _

"And I'll just keep you caged up like before," the blue hero grumbled, glancing at the parts of Metal floating in the water. Suddenly a solemn feeling fell over him. "That's not how I wanted to end our rivalry, that's for sure."

Waves continued to crash against the shores, slowly pulling the scattered parts of Metal into the ocean, never to be seen again. Sonic watched as they floated off, but forced himself to focus on his current task. Warning the others was definitely his current priority. Clenching his fists, he knew that it wouldn't be long until Dusk actually attacked, this time on a much, much larger scale.

"But what could they really be after?" he muttered, rubbing his chin in thought.

"You're putting way too much thought into it, kid."

Quickly pivoting on his heel, Sonic spun to find the source of the other voice. Suddenly the temperature around him seemed to spike, and the flames around Gantz proved to be the reason. The embers crackled and spun high into the sky, the aura of flame circulating his body beginning to grow and grow. Sonic threw a hand over his forehead in order to block some of the heat, but found it to be too over whelming.

"Ugh, dude, turn down the heat why don'tcha!" Sonic shouted angrily.

Suddenly the flame collected back into the tanuki's body, and the Dusk member jumped across the newly formed body of water, and landed in front of Sonic. With arms crossed, the fiery agent snickered, and leaned against a rock double his height.

"Like I said, you're thinking about it way too much."

"What do you mean by that, dirt bag?" Sonic retorted fiercely.

"Usually our groups are pretty organized," Gantz explained. "But our phase seems to be going down shit's creek pretty fast. So, I'm just here to see what happens of it. You know, you don't seem like much of a world hero to me."

"What's that supposed to mean!" Sonic growled.

"Oh, nothing," Gantz sighed, beginning to walk away. "Just thought I'd press your buttons to see if the recording Metal sent back was true...I guess not. By the way, you and your friends are in the wrong place once again! Station Square's about to be brought to the ground, so you had best hurry."

"What'd you say!" Sonic barked, utterly shocked at the news.

"You heard me."

With an angered growl, Sonic darted towards the fiery agent, blue energy twirling around his fist. However, once flashing a cocky grin, Gantz hopped through a vortex of purple light, disappearing. The power attack charged in Sonic's grasp slammed against the sand. Debris shot up into the sky from the attack, but quickly died out with the attack. The blue hero growled, his fist clenched tightly, and sprinted back towards the Mystic Ruins to warn the others.

**Location: GUN Central Command**

Heavy breaths escaped his lungs, puffs of his air appearing in the cold air of the night. Anger had been ignited unlike any time before, and Shadow wasn't going back to that murderous organization, but instead he'd avenge all those hurt by them. Blood continued to drip from his stained gloves, splattering onto the cement beneath him. Wounded and dead soldiers lay in his wake, but despite this, one man, sporting a turquoise glow, walked through it all, a confident look plastered to his face. The bodies scattered throughout the wide corridor suddenly slid against the wall with such force, their bones crunched.

Turning slightly to face his former leader, the rage filled eyes of the black hedgehog seemed to gleam in the darkness. Crimson and violent flames of energy rolled upwards from the ultimate life forms body, creating an aura of power to ready himself for an attack to inevitably come.

"You realize you've become an enemy to the government now, Shadow," Shrike informed, the rubble hovering around him suddenly dropping to the ground. "If you work with me, we could take this planet in the palms of our hand and rule it. You could be apart of a new power. A government driven by truth and security. Yet you run. You can still beg for forgiveness. "

A wicked scowl found its way onto the dark hedgehog's face. "Don't give me that bullshit, Shrike," he barked. "I would never _consider _begging for forgiveness. Especially when it's _you _who should be begging _me_!"

"Bold words, Shadow." Shrike remarked with an amused look. "Are you prepared to become a rogue GUN agent? Your face will be plastered on every wall, every news station and every television. Mark my words, your declaration of betrayal on the government is a death wish. You will become GUNs _**number one **_enemy. You'll be top priority for our wanted list. Are you prepared?"

"Send all the soldiers you want after me, I'll kill them all. Then after I've painted the walls of this building with their blood - I'll kill you!"

Taking a cigarette from his military jacket, the psychic buck placed it between his lips and lit it. "Then I guess it's game on. But I assure you, I'll be the victor."

Remaining quiet, the dark hedgehog suddenly disappeared in a flash of light. However, Shrike stood calmly amidst the gore, smoke drifting away from the cigarette between his lips. After pulling the stick away and exhaling the smoke, the man grinned wide and tossed the half burnt cigarette onto a dead body. With an amused chuckle, the buck turned and walked back down the hallway, a wave of psychic energy pushing the opposite way, clearing the building of the dead bodies.

"Don't under estimate me, Shadow. It's time I've reclaimed what's rightfully mine."

"_Our world doesn't enjoy military acts. We do them because have to, and God we are efficient." ~ Darius Seiryu, XIV King of the Voxili Kingdom, 2008_

**To Be Continued**


	40. Chapter 40: Resolve

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 40: Resolve**

"_Peace behind good intentions will stand as firm as mountains."_

**Location: Outside Station Square**

Hanging heavy in the sky, clouds of ash and smoke hovered above the once great city. The fields of emerald green grass heading north of the metropolis swayed gently from the faint breezes as a black hedgehog raced through them. The golden rings around his wrists gleamed faintly, reflecting small shafts of light from the scarce beams of sun peaking through the dark clouds overhead.

Coming to a sudden halt in front of the city entrance, Shadow stared ahead. In his mind, he prepared himself for whatever was within the city. He knew by the ash and smoke Galaxy had finally made his move; that things were drawing to a close. But, he had another task. The others would take care of the cities, and drive out Dusk, but he had to find Galaxy, and save Rouge.

Turning his attention back down the main freeway leading through Station Square, he noticed a fleet of GUN helicopters. There's no doubt they would be looking for him.

The fabric in his gloves tightened with his fists, and a surge of power ran through his body.

In a flash of light, Shadow disappeared, his mind locked onto an energy signature belonging to the lost Chaos Emeralds. Light inverted around him, and the black hedgehog sped at light speed through town. Over the last couple years, he had grown accustomed to the Emeralds wavelengths, allowing him to hone in on their energy from miles away. Now he was thankful for having developed this technique.

His surroundings returned to normal, and particles of Chaos Energy fell to the ground as he kicked away an attacking Dusk pawn. It screeched in pain and bounced across the ground, knocking over a GUN soldier in the process.

"I shoulda known that traitor would come here!" one soldier shouted, aiming his rifle on Shadow. "Stop where you are! You're under arrest!"

Shadow's malicious crimson eyes darted to the left, and focused on the soldier. The rifle lit up with a rapid blaze of light, sending a barrage of ammunition towards the ebony hedgehog. The world around Shadow once again inverted, and time slowed down to a crawl, allowing the rogue GUN agent to walk past the bullets.

Time reverted back to its normal speed, and Shadow gripped the soldiers throat, lifting him up into the air. The man choked and sputtered, clawing at his attacker. The soldiers around each gasped and immediately trained their sights on the dark hedgehog; their laser targeting systems dotting his body.

"Put the man down, Shadow! You have until the count of three, or we'll open fire!" The leader of the company shouted, signalling his men to get ready. "What's it going to be?"

Crimson light suddenly started to smoke off of Shadow's quills. The man in his grasp screamed in agony, his skin beginning to burn from the hand around his throat. The soldiers around the hedgehog shared mutual feelings of dread watching their comrade scream, but the head officer signalled for them to fire. Which was taken with delight.

A field of inverted light expanded around Shadow, causing the bullets to slow down around him. Then, a wave of black energy pulsated from within his body, shattering the inverted world around Shadow. The bullets shot out of the barrier, killing the soldiers around him. The dark hedgehog grunted, only to drop the wounded soldier so he could grip his chest. His heart lurched within, and a rushing feeling of pain filled his upper body. The terrified soldier screamed at the malevolent aura pulsing around the black hedgehog before scrambling to his feet. The soldier pulled the pistol from his holster and aimed it at Shadow, ready to fire. Tears dripped down his cheeks in fear of the Rogue Soldier.

Turning towards the soldier, Shadow's hand lit up with a sparkling, golden light. The dark hedgehog waved his hand in the air, sending a spear of energy through the soldiers chest. The dark hedgehog watched the soldier fall to the ground, causing his attack to burst into a flurry of particles. However his fight wasn't over just yet.

The creatures sent by Dusk crawled around the battlefield, eyeing up their next meal, which came in the form of the dead GUN soldiers. Ignoring the pawns, Shadow closed his eyes and focused on the energy coming from the Chaos Emerald nearby. After regaining his bearings, the hedgehog made his way towards the gem. Using so much power without an Emerald was beginning to take a toll on his body, and he knew he'd have to hurry.

However with each passing second, the amount of soldiers, machines and Dusk creatures seemed to increase. The gore and fatalities grew by number. Buildings had been set ablaze and destroyed, as tanks moved through the streets, combating the larger pawns sent out by Dusk. The dark hedgehog bounded over top of a tank, just as it fired a shot at a creature of the same size. Smoke, fire and ash exploded from impact, and Shadow slid to a stop, covering his eyes and mouth.

From within the debris, a hammer like fist swung from the left. Shadow quickly jumped into the air, only to be shot back from the turbulence the fist created. The debris blew over, and from within any remaining, a red beam of energy tore apart the cement, and eventually the tank that had attacked the creature. Shadow jumped away from an overturned taxi just before the creature attacking GUN flattened it. Using the attacking creature as a staircase, the dark hedgehog jumped off its head, and onto the crumbling overpass above. A single GUN helicopter swooped down from above, firing missiles at a horde of the larger creatures further down the street. A cloud of flame and smoke followed the impact, but Shadow ignored the conflict, and instead focused on the two figures standing atop one of the highest towers in Station Square. Once again honing in on the power of the Chaos Emerald, Shadow warped to its location.

**Location: Tails Workshop, Mystic Ruins**

A gust of wind burst past the train station, carrying the dust that came with it into the air. The blue streak slid to a stop momentarily, and then dashed up the long set of stairs leading to the one place he knew was safe. Sliding to a halt, the blue hero noticed all his friends waiting around the Tornado. A string of gasps filled the air, and Amy ran up to embrace him. The young blue hero wrapped his arms around Amy, and then waved to his comrades. Tails quickly jumped out of the biplane, and the group surrounded the blue blur.

"Sonic, I'm glad you're back! What happened to you?" Tails questioned, noticing the minor wounds scattered all about his brother's body. "It looks like you've fought an army off by yourself!"

"I met up with Shadow out on Prison Island, and things didn't really turn out too hot over there. Turns out we're up against a whole lot more than just Dusk, bud. Shrike, the new GUN Commander, locked us up after a big rant about vigilantes and such. Oh! And I guess Egghead had a backup of Metal somewhere, coz' he attacked the base, and that's kinda how we got out," Sonic summarized, a finger on his chin.

"What happened to Metal? Are you okay?" Amy wondered, her eyes wide in shock.

"We won't be having anymore trouble with that buckethead, to say the least..." Sonic explained, a hint of guilt in his voice.

"All that matters is that you're safe, Mister Sonic," Cream exclaimed happily. "Did you bring back one of those pretty orbs?"

"Dusk got the upper hand in that department, unfortunately." Sonic sighed, then noticed the bandages on Knuckles and Mighty. "Say, how'd it go with you guys? Did ya' put one up on the score board for us?"

"Both my group and Amy's group were overpowered," Tails informed, but didn't seem to be too upset over the loss. "But I did manage to get some information from Eggmans base in Mazuri, and I've picked up traces of the Chaos Emeralds around the planet. We're just heading out to go check out the signatures. Need a ride? You look pretty exhausted, Sonic..."

"I'll tag along this time." The blue hero chuckled. "Going toe to toe with Metalhead took a lot outta me!"

"Well then, let's hurry up!" Knuckles grunted.

**Location: Central Clocktower, Station Square**

"If it isn't the military's dog!" Crush exclaimed viciously, standing protectively in front of a strange machine. "I suppose you're here to rant on about how we're causing destruction? Save the speech."

With peaked interest, Shadow eyed the machine, noticing the Chaos Emerald housed within it. "I'm here for the Emerald, but, since you two are here it saves me the work of finding Galaxy," Shadow explained, moving into a defensive stance just in case.

"Can't we just give it to him, Crush..." Gaia questioned timidly, obviously intimidated by Shadow. "We're almost done anyways."

"You're joking, right? Galaxy would wring our throats!" Crush retorted, fear showing in her eyes. "You hold him off while I finish up!"

With a nervous nod, the gigantic bear lunged forth, his fist wrapped in rock. Watching his foe move into action, Shadow jumped backwards, avoiding the crushing punch from the agent. Cement crumbled under the weight of the attack, but Gaia continued his assault. Shadow ducked beneath another punch from the rock solid bear, while chaos energy charged in his fist. Yellow sparks glistened down his arm and along his fingers, and as he shot back up behind the Dusk agent, he smashed his fist against the bears back. A wave of energy burst forth from his hand, pushing Gaia over and onto the ground.

Then a blade of chaos energy extended from Shadow's hand just as the bear turned to his back to get back up. Gaia's eyes went wide, the tip of the blade now against his throat.

"What're you two doing with that machine?" the dark hedgehog barked, pivoting on his foot to face the shocked girl to his right.

"It's to drain the planet of its natural life force. This one is finished, but the others are setting them up around the planet as we speak," Crush explained, her voice stern. "We're doing this to benefit everyone, but you and your corrupt military are much too stupid to realize that. I'm sorry that you aren't all enlightened like we are!"

"So your groups selfish little goal is more important than innocent lives?" Shadow retorted quietly, turning his attention to Gaia briefly. "Fathers, mothers and children are being killed down there, all trying to protect what they love. Yet you hand full of delinquents insist on being nothing more than just mindless, little sheep. You know, I've seen both sides to this argument, and I don't like yours anymore than I like GUN's."

"I remember you, Shadow," Crush informed, taking the Emerald from the strange machine. "You were the soldier who tried to save me when Doctor Eggman attacked the prison I was being held at. When you failed, I learnt that the others within my team and I were the reasons behind his attack. He wanted us for power, just like what the governments of our homes wanted. Before I was just a weapon, but now I can be a soldier – like you – fighting for peace. You have it all wrong; you're the sheep. We're revolutionaries."

"You have a lot to learn, Crush," the dark hero responded solemnly. "Give up the Emerald, or I'll take it by forc-"

Before he could finish, a pillar of rock exploded beneath his feet, sending him flying. Brick and stone crumbled away from the clock housing of the skyscraper, causing the bell within to ring gently. The dark hedgehog peered through his squinted eyes, finding Gaia running towards him once again. Once more, Chaos energy lit up his hand, as well as his quills. Light wrapped around his body, allowing him to warp behind the bear and deliver a crushing kick into Gaia's spine. The bear stumbled forwards into the clock tower, but quickly absorbed the material within to reform his rock boxing gloves. Gaia spun back around, his arm reeled back and ready to strike. Crimson eyes opened wide at the sheer size of the rock encasing Gaia's fist. Thinking through his options as fast as possible, Shadow rolled to the left, allowing the fist to smash into the floor. A quake rocked the entire building, causing it to tremor violently.

"I'm sorry," Gaia murmured with a sadistic smirk.

Shadow snapped his attention behind him. Gaia was nowhere to be seen, but a rotating violet portal took his spot, with a hand made of sand looming over the hedgehog. The hand suddenly dropped down on Shadow, and pulled the hedgehog back through the portal before he could react, allowing Crush time to escape.

"Hey, you!" a voice called from the streets.

"_Don't they ever go away?" _Crush though to herself, becoming increasingly frustrated.

The fox girl spun around to look at the newcomers, only to find Mighty on the ground with Sonic. Suddenly her power and fearlessness disappeared, replaced with sorrow and despair. Metallic blue eyes locked onto Mighty's, and the two knew that their differing ideals were going to clash more than ever. Crush pulled the cloak from her body, and pulled her silvery hair into a pony-tail, leaving two long locks of hair to frame her petite face. Blue energy seemed to glow off of her lip and nose piercings. The young fox quickly jumped off the building, emerald in hand, and landed a few yards from her former comrade.

"So you didn't change your mind, huh, Mighty?" she called out, trying her best not to tear up. "I really wished we didn't have to fight one another."

"Who's that girl, dude?" Sonic whispered, and nudged his solemn comrade.

The young traveller tugged at the bandage around his chest, and then let out a sigh. "Ray and I met her out in Spagonia when we were helping out the military with a group of religious extremists. She was being used as a ransom because of some sort of power or artifact she had. I can't remember too clearly on the details, though."

"We all travelled for a year, Mighty. We became best friends, comrades and family. Yet you just let them take Ray and I away...like we were ..nothing," she recalled, walking closer to the duo. Moisture had begun cloaking her form, wavering the loose thigh length shorts and tank top that graced her hour glass figure. "How could you just let them lock us up like that?"

"Listen up, I've known Mighty here for a long time," Sonic butted in, standing in front of his ally. "And after all the years I've known this dude, I know for sure that he'd _never _abandon a friend! And another thin-"

"Sonic, stop," Mighty interjected, placing his hand on Sonic's shoulder. The blue hero turned around, bewildered. "She's right, I let them down. Fear got the best of me, and I didn't know what to do...I was going to save them. That's why I busted up some of GUN's machines. But before they could take me out to their base, Metal Sonic and Metal Knuckles attacked. And well, you know the story from there."

The young armadillo stepped past his friend, and stared at Crush, tears welling in his eyes. "I really did mean to come save you guys, Crush. I did my best to get Ray back, but...he died. I don't want to lose another family member, so why don't you just come back? We're all more than willing to take you back. You don't _have _to do this!"

Tears dripped down the icy blue fox's cheeks. Her eyes locked onto her former comrade, while thoughts plagued her mind. Could she really just leave Dusk? Just like that? No, it couldn't be that easy. They'd come to get her, wouldn't they? She quickly shook her head, coming back to her senses. A barrier of water surrounded her, while her hands froze over. Fire hydrants burst open with more of the blue liquid, as geysers shot up from the cement, creating a humid and slippery battlefield.

"I can't do that, Mighty."

"_All that exists around is but a temporary mark of our mortality." ~ Tikal the Echidna, Knuckles Tribe Scholar_

**To be Continued**


	41. Chapter 41: Memento Mori

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 41: Memento Mori**

"_A journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step."_

**Location: Spagonia – 6:45 PM**

Lightning flashed across the sky, giving the storm clouds above Spagonia a hellish glow. The thunder that followed each bolt of lightning seemed to shake everything, even slightly disturbing Tails' hold on the Tornado. In the passenger seat, Professor Pickle kept a sturdy hand rested on the top hat keeping his grey hair swept back. Again the thunder cracked amidst the clouds, and Tails fought against the controls of his plane, eagerly trying to bring the biplane to a lower altitude. Below them, sounds of gunfire and cannons accompanied the storm, adding to the chaos found across the planet.

"Any idea where we're going, lad?" the Professor called, glancing at the horde of Dusk beast flying ahead of them. "It seems as though these terrorists have waged war on a worldwide scale! Quite the set of trouble makers, I must admit."

"The journal entry that Doctor Eggman left in his base out at Mazuri said he had kept a stronghold just outside Spagonian city limits. I've scanned the area for heat signatures, and the mountain range to the north came back with the biggest readings," Tails replied, trying to overcome the chaotic noise around them.

"You mustn't forget that two-thirds of Spagonia's major tech facilities are stationed out there. Are you certain you found the correct location?" Pickle called in concern.

"Positive! Doctor Eggman is the only man to use that much Chaos energy in his work," the young fox reassured. "Plus it's underground, meaning he has something to hide."

"Impressive, but you may want to watch out for those beasts flying ahead! They don't look like they're up to any good, lad!"

Glancing ahead, the young fox noticed the swarm of creatures had dipped down from the clouds, and begun swooping down into the mountain range. Curious as to why they were headed the same direction, the young fox dropped altitude and followed behind, his thumbs hovering over the triggers of the Tornado's cannons, just in case. The sounds of war had quickly become more and more distant, soon becoming just a faint echo. But the booming thunder and deafening wind had remained all the same. Watching the creatures swoop down through the trees, Tails pulled the plane upwards, flying overhead. The young fox glanced over the side of the plane, watching them land within the thick forest.

"They've landed near Eggman's base," Tails noted with a suspicious look. "I'm gonna bring the plane down in the field we passed just a second ago. Hold on!"

Pulling back on the controls, the Tornado veered upwards and flew around in a loop. Then, as the young fox righted the biplane, it swung around in a corkscrew, until finally it's main thruster powered off, leaving the propeller to pull the plane. Straightening the plane, Tails eased back on the thrust and then landed, using a parachute to slow the Tornado down faster than the brakes would alone. Once the aircraft had been powered down, Tails grabbed the keys and stuffed them in the vest he usually wore whilst flying, and took his helmet off.

"It's just through those tree's over there, Professor," the young fox informed, pointing to a section where the vegetation had been demolished. "Then there should be a tunnel or something leading down to the base."

"Let's not waste anymore time, then!" With a reassured nod from the Professor, Tails twirled his namesakes and grabbed hold of his comrade, hoisting him into the air.

The grass swayed with each gust of wind, and the rain had all but disappeared by the time they entered the forest. Any animal life that may have existed before had now retreated from the war torn city not too far away, leaving the innards of the forest silent. Before long, the duo had come up to another clearing, where a man clad in a white cloak stood in front of the swarm of creatures. Fortunately, their backs were turned to them – but Tails noticed that the leader was searching for something. Proving his theory correct, the ground began to tremor, and from it an elevator door extended upwards, opening up for the cloaked man.

"I think they're searching for some of Doctor Robotnik's old robots for extra man power..." Tails guessed, growing scared of the possibility of an even greater military force fighting against the world. "We better hurry and find whatever it is Eggman was hiding before they do!"

The duo rushed from their hiding spot the second they realized the swarm of beasts ascended back to the sky, pulling the cloaked figure with them. Noticing the elevator had begun to sink back into the ground, Tails activated his Mach Cannon, allowing him to shoot a pulse of electricity to halt the doors motors. The Professor stumbled into the elevator, while Tails slid in after him, just as the doors slammed to a shut. Before the young fox could regain his footing, the elevator car fell to the depths of the earth. The floor numbers, shaped as Eggman's face, lit up at a rapid pace, when suddenly a _ding _sounded, and they were let free. Faint lighting lit up the small laboratory, illuminating the scattered notebooks, papers and schematics. Tails looked in awe at the various models of Metal Sonic, Metal Knuckles and his EggMobile hung up around the shop, as well as all the computers. Slowly the duo made their way to the central chair.

"Looks like he spent a lot of time in here," Tails noted. "It's in the same shape as the base we found in Mazuri..."

The young fox yelped, jumping away from a computer as it flashed to life. Rows of code and file names exploded onto the screen in a scrolling fashion, and then turned black. However, four screens fixated on the wall in front of the central chair turned on, revealing, at first, a static ridden image of Doctor Eggman.

"Greetings," he muttered past a cough, sounding sickly. "If you're watching this, I'm long past deceased. These logs are being recorded in order to leave a memento of my genius for you. By now, I'm sure you've found out your purpose, as well as what has happened to me. That blasted hedgehog will have squashed my plans again. He'll have easily destroyed the Death Egg IV faster than I could have initiated it's weapon. Now it's all up to you. There's a panel under my chair that opens up a subterranean pathway. At the end of it, you'll find the machine that was equipped to the Death Egg, but at a much smaller size, and capacity. One Chaos Emerald will be enough to power, allowing it to drain the life of one continent, assuming the Twilight Key has been taken from that area. Once you've accomplished this, I've left another guide in ... Apotos. Yes. There's a map with the Planet Eater. Farewell."

Watching in astonishment, Tails stared at the Egg Insignia for a moment, until finally Professor Pickle laid a hand on his shoulder, breaking him from his trance. "I've found the trigger, lad. I'm no tech-savvy old man, but I do know that if we don't retrieve that machine, we'll have no hope of stopping this war."

"Right, let's go." Tails nodded, and the duo walked into the descending chamber.

As they walked, the steps lit up with alternating red, orange and yellow LED lights. Then, after five minutes of walking, they came to a rectangular room. Which happened to also be empty.

"Wait... there's nothing here!" Tails shouted in frustration. "How did they get down here, and leave, without us seeing?"

"Perhaps whoever those videos were meant for got here long before we did," Professor Pickle suggested, stroking his chin. "It looks like they were here quite awhile ago, too, judging by the amount of dust."

The young fox sunk to his knees, despair falling over him. Slamming his fist against the ground, the fox bit his lip and stared at his communicator, as he awaited Sonic's answer.

**Location: Downtown Station Square – 6:45 PM**

The cries of fighting soldiers, explosions and gunshots filled the city. Chaos had broken out entirely, quickly consuming the city in it's clutches. Battle equipped machines tore through the streets, crushing vehicles and debris in their way, while combating the demonic creatures sent by Dusk. Ash and dust hung heavy in the sky, allowing little to no sunlight through to the world. Sonic's quills wavered in the gentle gust, as he and Mighty watched Crush approach them. The barrier she had created begun to expand, freezing the ground within. Tears steadily dripped down her cheeks, while her hands lifted out in front of her as she readied herself for battle. Noticing the pained expression on his friend's face, Sonic placed a hand on Mighty's shoulder, attempting to reassure him.

Glancing towards his comrade, Mighty nodded, flashing a smile. "Go and stop that machine up there," the armadillo instructed, turning his attention up to the war torn clock tower. "I have a bad feeling about it! This place doesn't feel as alive as usual..."

"Good luck." Sonic grinned, speeding off towards the clock tower.

White energy slowly started to radiate off of the armadillo's fists. Taking in a deep breath, he shut his eyes and focused on everything around him, trying to push away his uncertainty and sorrow. The white light intensified, when suddenly the earth started to break apart around him, allowing plant life to start seeping through.

"I'll give you one more chance, Mighty," Crush warned, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Taking her friend's silence as the answer, the barrier around the fox suddenly dropped. Water splashed every which way, and Crush dashed towards the traveller. Reeling her fist back, the Dusk agent thrust it forwards, but Mighty stepped to the right, his footstep summoning a vine to wrap around the girl's wrist. With a scowl, Crush quickly froze the plant and broke free, only to swing another fist towards the armadillo. Once more, the traveller stepped back, avoiding the strike. His arms had now risen up to guard his face, giving him the form of a boxer. The young girl roared and thrust another fist towards Mighty, but the armadillo brushed it off with the back off his hand, and then slammed a palm against her stomach. A burst of white light shot out of her back, sending her sliding away.

Crush coughed violently from the hit, holding the place of impact. A blue light surrounded her touch, and the wound disappeared. Mighty gasped, his eyes growing wide in surprise. The fox quickly returned to her assault, but this time much more viciously. The girl stamped her foot on the ground, creating a slicing jet of water. The blade tore apart the cement as it raced towards the armadillo, but Mighty quickly rolled to the left, allowing the attack to collide with a fleet of GUN sentry robots. Crush then swung her arm upwards in a crescent motion, unleashing another sharp blade of water. Mighty grunted and fell to his knees at the sight of the attack, his palm planted firmly on the ground.

"What?"

The young girl growled, watching as a wall of wood thrust upwards from the earth. The water collided with the defensive attack, creating a burst of mist. Mighty then punched through his barrier and leaped towards his former comrade. Vines had begun crawling along the ground, following after the armadillo in close pursuit. Crush quickly swung each of her arms upwards in a fluid motion, creating a geyser from the earth. Mighty yelped and shot up into the sky, twirling in violent circles from the hit. A blast of water exploded beneath Crush, propelling her into the sky after the armadillo, allowing her to grab his ankle. With a quick spin midair, Crush threw her foe into the building closest to her, and then formed a fist and punched the air. From her hand a wave of frozen water splashed out onto Mighty, freezing him to the wall.

"I'm starting to regret something, Mighty," Crush remarked viciously, walking up a staircase of ice panels. "Would you like to know what it is?"

The armadillo grunted, watching her draw closer. "I'll assume it's something to do with me?"

"Ooh, what gave it away?" Crush retorted, pretending to pout. A final platform of ice rose up just in front of Mighty, with Crush standing atop of it. "I'm regretting ever meeting you. I thought you were reliable, and most of all, you had me believing you cared."

Hearing these harsh words, Mighty's grimaced. "But, Crush, I do care. I care enough to know this will only end badly for you! These people are using you as a tool, just to see their goals succeed! Why can't you see that?"

The scowl receded, being replaced with a neutral gaze. Blue eyes scanned her former comrade's face, searching for any hint of truth there may be in his words. Deep down, she knew he was partially right. That she really was just a small segment to the intricate puzzle that Dusk was made up of. She knew that she'd be forgotten in the grand scheme of things. But, she had to try. That's all she could do from here on out – is try. Everyone needed something to believe in; be it a God, family, religion.

Her hope lie in her leader.

"Get away from me," Crush muttered, jumping down from her platform. As her boots touched the ground, the ice turned to water, and the moisture in the area had finally been released from her will.

The young traveller stumbled to the ground, only to lean on his knee while he watched her walk away. "That offer is gonna be up for grabs for as long you need it, Crush."

Stopping momentarily to listen his words, the young girl wiped her eyes and walked through a violet portal. Her tail swished through the rotating light, just as Sonic zipped to his ally's side, helping him to his feet. The concerned words of Sonic simply faded against the thoughts swarming his mind. If he had to, he'd give his life to save her, and that was a promise he was willing to keep. The blue hero hoisted Mighty around his shoulder, glancing at the armadillo wearily.

The sound of static cut through the artillery in the background, and Sonic brought the communicator to his mouth. "Whatsup, Tails?"

"I think we're in a lot of trouble, Sonic," the young fox informed, dread lining his words.

**Location: GUN Central Command, Empire City**

Both Shadow and Gaia tumbled out of the portal, while the sand that the bear had been controlling washed over them. The dark hedgehog quickly jumped to his feet, and lunged at the slowly recovering Dusk agent. Shadow wrapped his hands around the bear's throat, thrusting the timid man back to the grass, clawing at the hedgehog's grip. Gaia grunted and sputtered, desperately trying to free himself, when, much to his delight, Galaxy appeared before them. Kicking Shadow in the face, Galaxy stepped beside his soldier, watching the black hedgehog writhe in pain from the hit.

"GUN must've really pissed you off, Shadow," the indigo cat remarked, crouching beside the former soldier. "You sure made quick work of those soldiers back in Station Square. What happened to your patriotism? What happened to fighting to protect the innocent? I'm sure those soldiers were just there because it was their job, yet you didn't waste any time murdering them."

"Shut your mouth!" the angry hedgehog barked, swinging his fist up, attempting to hit the cat.

Unfortunately, Galaxy caught the attack with much more ease than the rogue soldier had hoped. "Seems I've struck a chord in you. Since you went to Station Square after leaving GUN, I'm going to take a stab in the dark and assume you were trying to find the Chaos Emeralds? Or, perhaps... it was me you were looking for?"

"You're right, I _was_ looking for you." Shadow scowled dangerously, energy once more smoking off his body. "Only to choke the life out of you and get Rouge back."

"Keh, I never would've expected you to be the heroic type." Galaxy sniggered, walking around the kneeling hedgehog. "I really could benefit from keeping her, but I've also been run thin without Athana. Fine, if you break into the HQ down in the valley and retrieve Athana, I'll trade you. Give me my agent for your girlfriend. Sound fair?"

Glaring up at the cloaked cat, Shadow stood back to his feet, watching as Gaia lumbered through the portal, leaving Galaxy behind. "Athana will teleport you to our base once you've found her. But judging by the Commander's words sent back by Metal Sonic, I doubt she'll last long. You'd best hurry, dear Shadow!"

The dark hedgehog growled and warped away from the grassy hill, and into the base. Two soldiers walked past the crate of ammunition he hid behind, obviously guarding the new shipment of Dragoon rounds the military had been working on. Shadow shut his eyes to concentrate, honing in on the small traces of Chaos Energy within their bodies, allowing him to infuse his own into theirs. In turn, the dark hedgehog pulled his arm back, creating a storm of miniscule Chaos Spears within their bodies. The guards yelped and gasped, blood dripping from their mouths as they dropped to the ground like electrocuted flies. Shadow jumped over the boxes of ammunition and skated towards the doors of the weapons bunker, aware that it led into the main corridors. His ear flickered, hearing the unanswered calls coming from the dead soldiers communicators. As the door slid open, a single GUN beetle hovered past, unaware of Shadow, who pressed up against the wall.

Using the time to escape, the dark hedgehog darted down the corridor, eager to get to his target as soon as possible. Alarms suddenly begun to blare throughout the base, signalling the remaining soldiers within of the intrusion. Shadow realized that the Beetle had surveyed the dead soldiers, and relayed an emergency message back to all the soldiers. Rounding a corner, a group of three men came running towards him, rifles at the ready. But they proved to be no match, as Shadow quickly disposed of them, throwing them brutally against the walls. Bones cracked from the impacts and the dark hedgehog continued forth. Coming to a stop in front of a descending stair case, the dark hedgehog surveyed the troops at the foot of the stairs.

Twenty men, each armed with beefed up armour and speciality rifles, led by a young woman. From what he could make out, she was a dove, with a black beak – unusual for her species. Her stern and serious silver eyes stared up at the rogue soldier. As she unfolded her arms, Shadow noticed the unusual piece of equipment gripped in her black, GUN gloves. Was that a paint brush?

"Surrender to the order of GUN, or extreme force _will _be induced," the young dove hollered. "You are a suspect under violation of Act 4 of the GUN agent vow. Commander Shrike has ordered for you to be captured dead or alive."

"_Seems as though I've pissed him off..." _Shadow thought to himself, crimson energy collecting around his fingers.

"You have five seconds!" The sounds of rifles cocking filled the hallway, as twenty laser sights fixated on Shadows body. "Five!"

The energy gathering around the black hedgehog's digits begun to expand, proceeding up his forearm, and then crawling along his bicep.

"Four! Ready your weapons, men!"

Smoking, violet energy rolled off his quills, as he tensed his right arm and folded his hand into a tight fist.

Stepping back in defence, the young captain awaited the onslaught anxiously. "Three!"

Veins bulged around Shadows temples, his eyes starting to glow a hellish red. Energy had begun to steam off of his glowing hand like fire; his attack growing in power.

"Two!" Sweat dripped down her neck, uncertainty filling her thoughts. Fear.

The hallway had now become illuminated by the red glow of Shadow's attack, while the heat and force of the energy pressed against the company below.

"_**One!" **_she barked, adding ferocity to her voice to induce fear in the enemy, when in fact she was the one terrified. "**Fire!"**

Before the soldiers could pull the triggers, the room lit up like an inferno swept through the corridor. Twenty soldiers screamed as they rocketed backwards into the thick, titanium doors housing the hostage. Bones cracked and shattered from the impacts, but that was just the start. Waves of energy pressed the soldiers against the doors, holding them in place while the dark hedgehog walked towards them. Then, in a flash of light, everything ceased for a split second, until Shadow reappeared in front of one of the soldiers, his hand gripped around their throat firmly.

"_Chaos...**BLAST!**"_

A concussive force unseen by any of the soldiers rocked the hallway, vaporizing the men in an instant. The burst of crimson and white energy tore apart the corridor, while also throwing the leading woman up the staircase and through a window. Glass surrounded her as she slid into the courtyard, watching the blazing attack rip away at the cement and titanium that made up the base. She could hear the faint screams of her comrades, which brought tears to her eyes. Her heart pounded against her chest, horrified of the sheer power this monster displayed.

Everything then ceased. She scrambled to her feet and bounded through the hole in the hallway to gain a look at what happened. Smoke filtered through the cracks along the walls, while more billowed out of the hole that the doors once occupied. Bolts of crimson electricity jumped across any surface still in tact, while standing amidst the destruction, Shadow the hedgehog turned to face her.

"Get out of here," he murmured, and walked through the gaping hole.

Heeding his terrifying words, the young captain sprinted as fast as possible from the destruction. Panic had grabbed hold of her, and now all she cared about was holding onto the one thing she held most precious – her life.

**Location: Ivory Coast, Apotos**

A spiralling shaft of light expanded outwards, giving way for a trio of disorientated figures. Vector stumbled out of the dispersing light, holding his gut and trying to keep himself from vomiting. Charmy and Espio each groaned and stumbled to their knees, dizzy and sick as well. However, their rest couldn't last long, and the seismic tremors shaking the earth kept them on their toes. Once they regained their bearings, the trio dashed to the edge of the cliff, taking in the view of the war taking place on the once beautiful beach front of Apotos. GUN soldiers rushed from aquatic machinery and ships, aided by sentry bots equipped with armour to suit all sorts of terrain. Some flew, some rolled on tank-like legs and others walked. Fighter jets swooped from the sky, firing missiles into the opposing forces, creating a fiery explosion in their wake. The eyes of the Chaotix lit up with the horror ensuing below, paralysing them with utter disbelief.

"What happened down here?" Vector muttered, taking the words from his team mates mouths.

"_Defeat is never our true failure; the failure of having not tried is the ultimate loss." ~ First Lieutenant Joshua Brubaker - Leader of the ARK Raid, 1956 _

**To Be Continued**

**Authors Note ~ **Lots going on here, I know! But! Next chapter is the start of an epic, two part introduction to the finale! It's gonna be a long one, with more revelations! Leave your theories, comments and tips in a review! Stay Tuned, because chapter 42: Beginning of the End, Part I & II are going to be released at the same time to kick off the ending of Violet Dreams!


	42. Chapter 42: Beginning of the End, Part 1

**Violet Dreams **

**Part II**

**Chapter 42: Beginning of the End, Part 1**

"_Our ideals are ultimately our truths."_

**Location: Eggman's Hidden Base, Spagonia**

"We should hurry back to your shop, Tails,"the Professor suggested calmly, gripping the kitsune's shoulder. "There's nothing else we can do here. But first, shouldn't you contact the others? They'd benefit from what we've just learnt."

Nodding slowly, Tails stood up and took a deep breath. "Yeah. If I'm right, they probably duplicated the machine for efficiency. Besides, I can probably find the schematic on Eggman's hard drive once I get back. Then I can figure out something to fight it."

"Perhaps a better plan would be to research a method of reversing the effects," Pickle added, the duo slowly making their way back up to the main laboratory. "As it is right now, we wouldn't be fast enough to stop them all. I have no doubt in my mind that the signatures the others are investigating are those machines in action."

"You're probably right," Tails agreed, bending over behind the Doctor's chair. A couple clanks later, the fox sprung up with the hard drive disc in hand. "And this will sure come in handy!"

"Shall we make our leave, then?"

"Yeah, I'll make a broadcast to the others once we get to the Tornado," the young fox answered, and rushed ahead to the elevator.

Once again the lights illuminated the inside of the small enclosure. A short ding sounded, sending the elevator car shooting upwards at faster speeds than it had descended. The duo stumbled from the sudden halt, but quickly raced out of the opening doors, unaware of the cloaked figure perched on the branch behind them.

"So I was right," the figure called, jumping to the ground. "Someone _was _snooping around. Not that it matters, Eggman's bases are all barren now."

Both Tails and the Professor spun around to face the figure, noticing his white cloak flapping in the wind. Behind him, they watched the elevator shaft once again plummet into the earth, revealing a strange, pulsating white machine. It had to be no more than three feet tall, with a hull shaped like a cannon. The top was widest, and narrowed down to the ground, with a glass case implanted in the centre, which contained a Chaos Emerald.

Red and yellow metal extended from Tails wrist communicator, beginning to form his weapon. The material stitched together around his forearm, and then sprouted forwards and formed a cannon like muzzle. The young fox gripped it with his free hand and aimed the weapon at the enemy, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"So you _do _have it!" He shouted.

"Of course, we seized everything we needed years ago," the figure informed, pulling down his hood. Pale orange hair wavered in a messy arrangement all about his head, each with lock bearing a hint of white as well. The figure fixed the black goggles strapped to his forehead, his ear flickering in the process, while ruby eyes turned their attention to the machine, and then to Tails. "You didn't expect it to be left there when it was meant for us, did you? We had started planning for this very day since you and your friends killed Doctor Robotnik."

"So why now?" Professor Pickle spoke up curiously.

"Well tomorrow's a meteor shower," Gantz replied simply, and took the Chaos Emerald from the chamber of the machine. "Some say the Meteors are apart of the once great civilization that the God's created. Legends say the Gigos had technology far surpassing our own, and had created colonies on the moon. They say they tried to create a second moon, because of a civil dispute within the Lunar Tribes. But, they failed and it blew up. That's just a silly myth though. This year is actually the first time the Moon will be at it's peak gravitational influence on the earth – meaning it'll be the closest it's ever been. That means the energy given off by the Moon mixes in with the atmospheric energies of Earth, making it much richer. We're after a perfect world, after-all. Unfortunately I can't stay any longer."

The young fox watched in astonishment, soaking in the new information. Gantz waved lazily and jumped through a portal, leaving the duo in silence. The Professor grunted in thought, and turned to his young assistant, breaking him from his trance.

"We'll look into it more when we return, Lad." He assured, and pointed to the forest. "We should hurry."

"Y-yeah..."

Doing his best to ignore the information until later, Tails twisted his tails round, and then hovered above the Professor. Before long, the duo had burst through the thick forest once more, and sped across the field towards the plane. Tails eased the old man to the ground, then slipped the disc he had retrieved from Eggman's base into his biplane's console. After Professor Pickle had readied himself in the passenger seat, Tails hopped in and pressed his thumb against the button that initiated the Tornado's communication systems.

"Knuckles, Amy," the young fox called eagerly.

"You okay, Tails?" Knuckles replied with genuine concern, amidst his gruff voice.

"Whatsup?" Amy answered with interest.

"Those energy signatures I picked up are definitely the Chaos Emeralds," the young fox informed, anxiety filling his words. "But they're being used by strange machines that Eggman had designed before he died. They're built to sap the atmosphere of it's natural Chaos Energy, which in turn causes really chaotic side effects. I've seen a lot of lightning and funnel clouds out here, so be careful. Any storms that come up will be on a much more powerful scale right now. Also be on the look out for Dusk, I have no doubt that they'll be guarding the machines. Don't bother fighting them, because they're too powerful. Just try and avoid their attacks and get the Chaos Emerald, then come back to the Workshop!"

"Will do, Tails!" Came Amy's enthusiastic yet determined reply, followed by a chirp from Cheese.

"Roger that," Knuckles responded, his voice calm.

**Location: Ivory Coast, Apotos**

"What's that? Somethings glowing in the distance." Espio pointed out, gaining the attention of the others. "I can feel Chaos energy from it. Should we go check it out?"

In the distance a faint, white glow pierced the darkness of the apocalyptic weather surrounding them. The troops of either army continued to clash, with deaths tallying up to equal numbers. Artillery cracked in the air like thunder, while the roars of fighting men ensued. Vector watched the war below, but soon glanced further ahead at the strange source of light, becoming intrigued.

"Looks like a lead to me, boys," he responded with a confident grin. "Maybe that's the key to ending all this madness!"

Earning a nod of agreement from his comrades, Vector jumped down from the small cliff and into the jungle. Like they had done during their fight against Metal Sonic many years ago, the trio hung from Charmy as he weaved through the falling trees. Slabs of rock and soil shifted and rumbled beneath them, spewing streams of magma from below. However, they were forced to ignore the menacing molten rock trailing behind them, allowing it to eat away at the plant life. The trio burst out onto the beach, where GUN and Dusk forces continued to clash. Rockets burst away from the machines of war coming from the ocean, igniting flame and smoke on the opposing side. But Dusk retaliated with powerful, spiralling beams of energy from the heavy-weight creatures leading the battalion.

"Lead the way, Espio! We can use your wind-based attacks to deflect anything coming our way!" Vector directed, running the moment he fell to the ground.

Charmy had now taken to flying right above Vector just in case he needed a quick lift, while Espio weaved in between the holes created by explosions. Sand shot up all around them from stray bullets, while missiles whizzed between them occasionally. A fleet of flying creatures then swooped in front of them, their talon like feet outstretched and eager to grapple the trio. The beast's singular eye swivelled around in its fowl shaped skull, as it's leathery, bony wings fluttered quite madly, struggling to keep it in the air. Espio jumped upwards, landing feet first on the leading pawn, sending it plummeting down to Vector. The crocodile quickly grabbed the monster, immediately spinning around on his heel and tossing it into the sky at breakneck speeds. To their luck, a missile collided with it, scattering it's body parts across the beach.

By this time, Espio had annihilated the troop of creatures, leading his team mates further across the battlefield, as well as closer to their lead. Noticing a stray pawn ahead, Espio jumped up, producing a vortex around him. Using the vortex to his advantage, Vector jumped into it, flying into the sky towards the bulky creature, noticing it's hammer like arms and tail swatting away GUN troops. Vector reeled his fist back, preparing a punch, failing to notice the second mouth on the foes stomach beginning charge a orb of energy in it's fanged maw. Smashing his fist against the bulky creature's chest, the Rorx pawn staggered backwards, losing it's gathered energy. Vector then grabbed hold of Espio's arm, swinging him up into the sky, where Charmy awaited to do the same. A streak of purple zipped in an arch between the two, and the creature crashed to the ground in a cloud of sand.

With nods and calls of thanks by the surrounding soldiers, the Chaotix rushed along the rocky shores leading up to the hilltop baring the white light. Charmy once again took the lead, and grabbed his team mates to fly past the rough terrain leading straight to their target. Once they past the uphill portion of the beach, they found a mysterious machine in the centre of a grassy plateau, a constant aura of light pulsing around it. The Chaotix each landed twenty yards away from the cannon-shaped device, a Chaos Emerald embedded into a glass compartment below it. Beside, a silver furred monkey stood guard, his fists rested against his hips, watching the trio draw near.

"Didn't expect to see you three again," he called with a smirk, the white cloak flapping violently in the wind. "I haven't seen ya' since the Museum...yeah?"

"Oh great! The _annoying _one!" Vector grumbled, jutting a thumb out to the Dusk agent. "If you think you're gonna get away this time, you're wrong! This time you're outnumbered!"

"I don't need the others to help me kick yer' asses!" Hurricane retaliated furiously. "I'm just as capable as any'a the others!"

"What's that machine doing?" Espio questioned, breaking the battle threats. "And why is the ground trembling? Is it because of you?"

Snickering, Hurricane patted the white metal that laced the machine. "This is called a Planet Eater," he answered. "We're draining all the life from Earth, and eventually..._poof!_" Mimicking an explosion with his hands, Hurricane cackled with a wild grin. "Earth will be _all _gone!"

Then, static cut through the conversation, and Tails' voice sounded above the chaos. "Vector? Are you guys there?" He called desperately. "We have a big, big problem. Professor Pickle and I just investigated one of Eggman's old laboratories, and it turns out he had left a machine capable of destroying the planet. I'm not sure if Dusk has more of them by now, but if they do, we _have _to stop them! I've already contacted the others who are searching for the Chaos Emerald signatures in different areas on the globe."

"We're here, and I think that's the thing causing the crazy shit going on in Apotos right now." Vector replied, staring ahead at Hurricane. "The Emerald's in there too. We'll do our best to try and get it back. Has anyone found the other Emeralds?"

"No, but Sonic and Mighty said they saw one in Station Square not too long ago. Unfortunately they weren't able to get the Emerald back," Tails replied solemnly. "We have to stop these things, or we're all done for!"

"Roger that, Tails," Espio assured. "It's three against one over here, so we have the advantage. We'll keep in touch."

"Good! Meet back at my Workshop afterwards!"

Growing tired of their conversation, Hurricane rushed towards the trio hastily. Lightning shot through the sky behind him, the earth trembling from the volcanic activity. Taking the offensive, Espio lunged out in front of his team mates, tossing a battle knife as he did so. The weapon spiralled through the air, but Hurricane quickly pivoted on his heel, arching his other leg through the air. A concentrated burst of air jutted out from the strike, knocking the blade up into the sky. The monkey quickly jumped backwards, performing a midair flip, and then punched down at his enemy. From his fist, a burst of wind rocketed forth, causing the ground to rumble from its power.

Espio quickly cartwheeled, allowing Vector to jump forwards and unleash a flurry of explosive gum-bubbles into the air. The air impacted the gum, and immediately fire shook the already quivering plateau. Grass and dirt flew all about, and as the blast died down, Hurricane charged through the debris, his fist ready to strike. Vector slung his arms up in an "X" shape just as the monkey's fist collided. A vicious blast of air shot outwards from the impact, further eradicating the once beautiful terrain. Soon the effects of gravity grabbed hold of Hurricane, and pulled him to his feet – but he wasted no time to formulate a counter attack. The monkey pivoted on his foot and spun counter-clockwise, swiping his other leg around and into Vector. Adding to the blow, wind erupted from the kick, throwing Vector away and bouncing along the ground with such force the earth seemed to break apart.

However, Charmy rocketed down from the sky, his fingers wrapped around one of his comrades battle knives. An unusual looking piece of paper stuck to its blade, giving off a yellow gleam as the bee descended. Unaware of the strange material, Hurricane used the back of his hand to swat Charmy's hands away, knocking the knife from his grasp. Shafts of light suddenly expanded from the knife, igniting an explosion. Time seemed to slow down in Espio's eyes, as he slid beneath Hurricane's stance, and leaped upwards to save the young bee. A vortex of leaves and wind shot upwards around the chameleon, propelling the Chaotix away just before the knife exploded in a fiery burst of energy. Hurricane screamed and flew from the blast, rolling along the ground madly, before violently coming to a stop against a rock. Cracks etched upwards from the collision, and Hurricane groaned, rubbing his head.

"Ready to give up, Punk?" Vector called, walking towards the strange machine.

"Y'know, I've dealt with _shitheads _like you three all my life." The monkey scowled, struggling to his feet with a palm rested on his knee. "Constantly they looked down on me, like I'm just'a piece of trash. That stupid ol' shit back in Mazuri even kicked me outta the village! But y'know what? It's coz' they were afraid of me! And you should be too!"

A wild look had now consumed Hurricane's gaze, and the ground had crumbled beneath his feet. Air pulsated around his body, cutting up anything in its wake from its momentum. The Chaotix stumbled backwards, noticing their adversary rushing towards them. They knew better than to get caught in something like that. A reckless personality mixed with a destructive ability could only mean trouble, and they knew this simple fact all too well.

"Maybe it was because of your attitude!" Vector snapped in return, standing his ground. By now, each opposing side were equal distances from the machine. "You seem pretty immature, it's no wonder your friends and family didn't give you the recognition you wanted!"

"They weren't _all _afraid o' me. I led a coupl'a men against Gwek and his soldiers," he informed with a snicker. "The others looked up to me! But, I guess they were weak, because they just went n' got killed. I don't care, I was too good for that place. All I need now is retribution! That's why I came to this here organization."

"But they've only turned you into a criminal!" Charmy shouted, growing sympathetic for the rebel before them.

"Oh well, atleast they went n' gave me purpose!" He shouted, and jumped towards them, his barrier now concentrated around his fist. "He appreciates my abilities! I'm noticed by them!"

The Chaotix stumbled back in shock, but Charmy shot forwards from behind his comrades. Hurricane sneered and spread his fingers, thrusting his arm forwards to grasp the bee's throat. But the young Charmy veered upwards at a seconds notice to ram his helmet clad cranium against the agents bare skull. Hurricane's eyes grew, his pupils dilating from the pain.

Like a dead moth, the monkey fell from the air and crashed to the ground beside the Planet Eater, groaning in pain. Charmy hovered down just in front of him, a finger planted on his chin as he glowered at the moaning agent.

"You..." he snarled. "You won't embarrass me anymore!"

Espio and Vector jumped into action hearing their comrade scream. Hurricane held the young bee up in his grip, his body hunched over like a mad man. He stared at the other two members of the Chaotix, a wild smirk slithering along his face. Hurricane snatched the Emerald and jumped through a newly formed portal, with Charmy screaming in his grip. Both Espio and Vector grunted and raced through after their friend, leaving the crumbling continent to its demise, realizing there wasn't anything more they could do.

Molten rock spewed from various places across Apotos, it's once beautiful foliage slowly being eaten away by flame and destruction.

**Location: Dusk Hideout**

Light filled the darkness of the hideout, effectively washing away the shadows that lurked in the corners. Amused, Galaxy jumped from his throne, the moon high in the sky above. The black hedgehog tugged at the orange furred mouse, causing her to stumble and fall to the ground, to which she cursed and spat at the dark hero's feet. A distinguishable chuckle arose from the Phase 1 leader, his insanity showing through his gestures and voice even more so.

"So you did take the bait, I see." The cat grinned wide, and snapped his fingers. A portal spun open into thin air, then from it stumbled Rouge, her arms bound behind her and mouth gagged. "You know, it would have been much easier if you would have just snuffed out the _care _in your heart. The sooner I release Polaris, the sooner I can exact my reign over this filthy planet, and renew the Seiryu legacy! Peace is outdated – it brings nothing but strife to those that try to keep it. My family is a perfect example of that! One of our military's finest warriors _killed _by a government aimed for _peace_.

"But I'm sure you realize that now, don't you, Shadow? Has GUN finally proven to you that they're twisted and corrupt? Metal relayed his discussion with that sickening Commander before he was destroyed. Seems that man is trying to swipe my kingdom from under me. We can't have that, can we, Shadow?"

He was losing his mind, and Shadow knew it wouldn't be long before he went mad.

Chuckling further, Galaxy shoved the treasure hunter forth, taking shelter beside Shadow soon after. The dark hedgehog stared deeply at the mouse, as she walked towards her leader gingerly. Something about this deal seemed off, however.

Something wasn't quite right.

Then, a portal opened up behind the former GUN agents, releasing a Drix pawn from it. The beast screeched and snatched Rouge, a pair of torn, leathery wings sprouting from its back to allow it flight. The indigo cat sniggered heavily as the beast landed in front of him and his soldier. Rouge looked at her friend desperately, tears washing the mascara down her eyes.

"Honesty isn't your strong point, is it, Galaxy?" Shadow asked, golden energy dancing around his fist. His energy reserves were slowly being drained, but he had to do finish what he started.

"All's fair in war!" Came the vicious reply, as he freed Athana from her rope bindings. "You're the gullible and naive one in this trade off, dear Shadow. I couldn't just let you snatch away my sacrifice – my key to victory! Now I'm sure Athana here would have sufficed, but I need all the man power I can get my hands on when it comes time for the rebellion.

"I'm through taking orders from those who view themselves as _God's _above _**me! **_It's time I show this disgusting planet what true power is. What a true God can do when given the opportunity! And you; you're just another stepping stone I need to trample to get there!"

Sparkling gold and red energy suddenly spun outwards from Shadow's wrist, forming a crackling blade of power. Unaware of the forming attack, Galaxy snickered and ordered for his pawn to take Rouge away.

However Shadow wouldn't allow that.

In one swift motion, the black hedgehog rose his blade upwards, thrusting it towards the beast. Black and purple blood oozed from its head, then dripped to the ground. Feeling the intense heat radiating from the blade, Rouge gulped, breaking the silence that washed across the hideout. Along with the demonic liquid dripping from the dying creature, Athana gasped for air. Her hands clawed at the blade of energy impaled through her upper chest, staining her gloves with bright red blood. The liquid splattered to the ground, creating a puddle, when suddenly the blade disappeared into a flurry of golden particles. First the Drix pawn to vaporize, and then Athana fell over, choking on blood, saliva and vomit.

Galaxy watched the event unfold before him, his temper starting to boil over. Slowly, he begun to see red, fitting to the blood spilled from his underling. Athana continued to gasp for air, as she writhed on the ground in desperation and agony. Her olive eyes watched Galaxy eagerly, pleading for him to help her. Her fingers dug into the ground, but it was all in vain. Choking on her bodily fluids, the young mouse gurgled and stopped moving. Watching the girl intently, Shadow walked forwards, knowing now he had struck fear into his opponent. All became quiet, even Rouge's cries had ceased from witnessing the murder.

"How...how _dare _you!" the young soldier roared, veins bulging from his forehead. "_**How dare you betray me!**_"

Aware of the situation at hand, Shadow grunted and picked Rouge up in his arms, then swiftly jumped into the air. Vicious black pillars of energy launched through the ground like needles, while black particles begun to dance around Galaxy. The dark hedgehog quickly tore the gag from his friends mouth, then once again jumped free of harm. Avoiding a cluster of smoking violet spikes plunging through the dirt, the hedgehog whizzed around each. A streak of black darted around the hideout, dodging cluster by cluster. Soon the cave floor became a hazardous spike trap, and Galaxy roared in anger, his temper rising higher than it ever had.

"_**I'll rip you apart!"**_

Rock begun to crumble around the makeshift hideout, the rock columns lining the outer walls falling one by one. Meanwhile, Shadow silently manoeuvred through the dangerous attack, charging towards the exit.

"We have to get out of here, Shadow!" Rouge exclaimed desperately, pointing to the mass of black and violet particles gathering in place of the moon. "He's really lost it!"

The exhaustion suddenly hit Shadow like a freight train, his heart lurching in chest. The dark hedgehog stumbled, forcing Rouge to kneel beside him. Glancing at her ally worriedly, Rouge then shot her attention towards Galaxy, who had started walking towards them, his eyes a lit with rage. Shadow's heavy breathing increased, but with desperate urges from his friend, the rogue agent scrambled back to his feet. The albino bat flung the black furred arm around her shoulders, assisting the hedgehog in escaping.

"I can walk, you go on ahead, I'll buy us some time," Shadow grunted.

With a weary look, Rouge hesitantly complied and ran towards the exit. Shadow, on the other hand, summoned a fizzling burst of Chaos Energy to his being. Ignoring his bodies neglect, Shadow aimed his hand out to Galaxy, who had now begun to run towards them. A shock wave of golden light expanded from the anti-hero's hand, ripping apart the ground in the process. A trench three feet deep and four feet wide exploded in the attack's wake, throwing Galaxy backwards and tumbling across the rock.

The dark hedgehog clutched his chest in pain, and then spun around to reunite with Rouge in the corridors running throughout the base. Judging by the trembling, he knew they didn't have long before he levelled the entire building.

"_This planet is a gift; a home to all those blessed to have been given life. It is our home, our protection. So why do we destroy it?" ~ Tikal the Echidna - Echidnian Scholar, 2 Years Prior the Destruction of the Knuckles Tribe._

**To be Continued**


	43. Chapter 43: Beginning of the End, Part 2

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 43: Beginning of the End, Part 2**

"_We all have a light, we just have to ignite it."_

**Location: Central Shamar**

Torrential rain and hail flooded the once dry city of Shamar, turning it's once sandy streets into muddy and wet abominations. Citizens screamed, running to escape from the dogs of war marching through the city. Creatures sent by the terrorist organization, now known as Dusk, scampered along the crumbling roof tops, while the larger of the groups demolished the ancient pillars in the bazaar. Gun shots cracked, echoing throughout the war torn city like thunder. While the dead soldier's blood soaked into the golden sand, running off into the water along the main pathway. A group of soldiers slid to a stop in front of one of the military vehicles, then shielded their ears as a missile blasted out from the cannon at blistering speeds.

A demonic cry penetrated the thunderous gun fire, causing one of the beasts to slump to the ground. The cries of soldiers then echoed, and the armed vehicle rumbled forth. Morale was at an all time high for the soldiers of both GUN and Shamar. With the combined forces of the United Federations and the Middle East, Dusk stood no chance! Men yelled in triumph at the soon to be victory, their rifles lighting up with blazes of power. Creatures fell from the roof tops in hordes, joining in with the numbers of already dead soldiers.

Horrified, Amy and Cream watched the chaos ensue. They couldn't grasp how such havoc had been unleashed in so little time. And as much as they wanted to stop it all, they had a mission. Turning their attention away from the primary battleground, the duo moved across the highest rooftop they could find, and then jumped down into a barren street.

"Do you think everyone is going to be okay, Amy?" Cream wondered, comforting her chao.

"It looks like everyone's been evacuated..." the pink hedgehog assured, glancing down the street. However, a faint crying caught her attention. "Wait, Cream, do you hear that?"

Cheese, the newly transformed hero chao chirped and fluttered off down the path, following the sound. "Cheese can hear it too! Let's follow!"

Dashing down the stone street, the duo rounded a corner and slid to a stop in front of a wheezing man. Both Amy and Cream gasped and sunk to their knees, helping the wounded man to his feet desperately. A violet chao with red spots eagerly tugged at the mans wrist, tears dripping from it's eyes. The old man grunted and leaned against a barrel filled with fruit, and lay his head back.

"Mister, are you alright?" Amy asked with concern, while Cheese and Cream set to work healing the wound.

"Wh-where's Thorn?" the man mumbled, choking up a mouthful of blood. The violet chao fluttered into his lap, trying to get him up. A warm smile filled the elderly man's pained expression, and with weak hands he picked the chao up so he could look the creature in the eyes. "Hey now...don't cry, young one. I'm going to go be in a happier place!" More blood leaked down the mans chin, and both Amy and Cream grew solemn.

"Will you look after Thorn, young lady?" The man's empty eyes fell on Amy, his last breaths nearing.

Tears suddenly flooded down each of the heroes cheeks, as Amy nodded quietly. With a growing smile, the man turned his attention back to the violet chao in his hands. "See? This beautiful young girl will look after you. Remember, always eat your vegetables...and be strong!"

The infant chao whimpered as it's former owner's hands slumped to the ground, and his body went limp. Both Amy and Cream watched the chao ease the man's hands to the ground, but their peace was abruptly interrupted. A gentle chuckle sounded down the street, and a large figure began to descend the steps from the golden temple that marked the centre of the city. The attention of everyone present darted towards the lumbering figure as he took a seat on the steps, watching with a calm expression. However, Amy's temper quickly boiled over, and with it, more tears ensued.

"What do you think you guys are accomplishing?!" she screamed, fists clenched tight. "Ever since you freaks showed up, there's been nothing but pain and death!"

A shaft of white light extended through her grasp, and from it, Amy's hammer formed. Gaia watched the angered hedgehog intently, then stood up, taking his hood off. "Sorry," he muttered.

"Shut up! You don't mean that!" Amy growled angrily, and swung her hammer upwards. With a powerful leap, the bubblegum pink hedgehog soared through the air, quickly closing the distance between her and the enemy. Watching silently, the unusually quiet bear swung his arm upwards, at the same time summoning a pillar of rock to meet the vicious swing of Amy's mallet. The pink hedgehog sneered and cracks shot down exterior of the stone pillar, before it shattered. Gaia yelped and slid back up the staircase, allowing Amy to land amidst the rubble.

"Cream, the Chaos Emerald is inside that temple, I just know it. Can you get it?" Amy called, watching her opponent as he begun to walk towards her again.

"Of course!" The young rabbit nodded and took to the air with her ears, leaving Cheese to guard the orphan chao. A storm of rock pellets suddenly shot through the sky, but Amy swiftly leaped into the air and deflected them, protecting her friend.

Gaia, however, snarled and jumped as well, his large hand outstretched to grab the petite rabbit. His fur swayed and churned, as slowly it turned to diamond, encasing him in impenetrable armour. The bear roared and heaved his arm back, ready to strike down each of the young heroes. Grabbing Amy by the wrist, Cream quickly ascended, avoiding the punch from the pursuer. Amy then quickly jumped free of her friend, and swung her hammer downwards, smashing it against the bears forehead. Cracks darted across Gaia's head armour, his eyes widening from the hit. The body plummeted to the ground, and upon collision tore apart the ground, forming a crater. Landing at the top of the staircase, Amy swung back around, guarding Cream as she dashed into the temple.

A loud chuckle filled the street as Gaia staggered back to his feet, shaking off the impact as if nothing happened. Sand seemed to stream from his body, as parts of it sunk to the ground, until finally it fell into a pile of rubble. Amy gasped, and spun to face the temple, just in time to see Cream rocket through the air. Amy grunted, attempting to catch her friend, but the duo tumbled back down the stairs and smashed into a wall of rock. An unscathed Gaia sniggered and stood victoriously at the top of the stairs, his diamond armour receding down to the ground.

"I'm sorry," he belted, holding the Chaos Emerald in his grasp, while a strange machine sat on his shoulder. "But soon we'll all be free of death and pain! Master says sacrifice is necessary."

Each of the heroes grunted, and staggered forwards. However before they could regain their bearings, Gaia had disappeared through a warp tunnel. Just then, the howling of the Tornado loomed overhead, pulling the duo's attention towards it. Sharing a defeated gaze, both Amy and Cream sighed, then rushed to retrieve the orphaned chao and signal down their friend.

**Location: Adabat**

"I can sense the Chaos Emerald...but where is it?" Knuckles grumbled, trudging through the deep snow. Ever since his arrival, Adabat had been eerily quiet, void of any signs of war.

Either the battle hadn't reached the remote country, or had already consumed it's people and left it barren. But, Knuckles had no time to think about the what-if's. He never did, really. Constantly worrying about the safety of an ancient relic proved to be very thought-consuming.

Sneezing, the bulky fighter begun to rub his shoulders, continuing his trek through the deep snow.

Worried violet eyes scanned the wooden huts that once served as homes, searching for any signs of life. Of course nothing turned up, however. Howling wind swept across the barren town, and before long the echidna guardian and marched his way to the outskirts of the small town. A beam of pure, shining green light pierced the sky in the distance, causing the clouds to spin around it like satellites. Rings of energy orbited the needle of light, and in response, the earth trembled as if it were weeping in pain.

Knuckles grunted, and jogged through the pesky terrain towards the source of the strange phenomena. Snow had finally managed to swallow up the beautiful seas and beaches that the people prided themselves of, turning it into a winter wasteland. Slowing to a halt, Knuckles eyed the trail of footsteps in front of him, following them back to a strange, white machine perched in the banks of ice.

"I'll bet that's the machine Tails warned us all about," Knuckles whispered to himself, continuing towards it slowly. His eyes darted every which way, watching for any danger. "I wonder if anyone is guarding it?"

"We're not stupid," a voice called sarcastically, quickly followed by a yawn. "Didn't I knock some sense into you back into Mazuri, hot-head?"

"I actually came to thank you for the great sparring match!" Knuckles snorted, crossing his arms. "Now return the Chaos Emerald before I hurt you, coward!"

With a furrowed brow, and a confused expression, Surge jumped from his perch atop of the machine. "Coward? Now, what would _you _know about bravery?"

"Enough to give a crash course, that's for sure." Knuckles barked, readying his fists. "I don't have to hide behind some stupid lie fed to me in order to have a purpose!"

By now, the calm and collected Surge had been intrigued. "What exactly is your _purpose_, then? Enlighten me, oh, wise one!"

A mere foot now distanced the deadly rivals, their eyes locked in a stalemate. Knuckles searched through the pools of electrifying turquoise gazing back at him, displaying a near polar opposite expression of which he wore.

Not a single creature vacant in the area dared make the slightest sound. An enthused grin made its way across Surge's lips, and with crossed arms he quirked his brow once more. "Well?"

"Let me guess, you realized that sitting in front of some _rock _doesn't count as a purpose. I'd say it's more of a curse – cast upon you for eternity to torture a poor soul. Correct me if I'm wrong, but, you're only helping the others in order to regain that big, green gem, aren't you?"

Knuckles diverted his gaze to the ground briefly, shame rising up in his mind. Feeling triumphant, Surge snickered and stretched his arms above his head. "That's pretty low. I thought you dubbed yourself as a _hero? _Or is that just some title to make yourself look good while you scramble after that curse of yours?"

Feeling utterly defeated, Knuckles clamped his eyes shut and grit his teeth. Anger had begun to boil up within his veins – not for the man before him, but for the truths leaving this stranger's mouth. Bones creaked from the echidna's fist tightening, and then he sunk to his knees. A large and powerful fist struck the snow at his knees, to which his head hung towards.

Watching the crimson echidna crumble so easily brought a certain sense of pleasure to Surge. One that could only be described as euphoria. Sparks glistened across his fingers, then up his arms. His lazy, turquoise eyes seemed to glow with the devious smirk now gracing his lips. Snow crunched under the lion's knee, as he knelt beside the guilt stricken echidna. Resting his electrified hand on Knuckles shoulder, Surge glanced to the swirling sky.

"It's people like you that we're trying to eliminate. The greedy and the evil." Surge whispered ominously. "You're all filth, and before long, you'll all be judged accordingly."

The ferocious feline patted his foe's back, and stood up to stroll back to the machine in the distance. His jagged tail bounced behind him, and the beam of energy piercing the sky receded to the ghastly device, allowing the darkness of the world to take over again. Grey and black clouds plunged back in on themselves, snuffing all but a few shafts of light out from the planet.

With the machine fastened and rested on his shoulder, Surge paid one more glance to the broken man behind him. Sighing, he turned his attention to the swirling portal opening up, and begun to walk towards it.

"You're wrong," Knuckles muttered, just barely catching the lion's attention.

"Hm?"

"I said, _you're wrong._" The guardian's voice now boomed, as he stood tall. "I'm a hero because I dedicate my life to protecting this beautiful planet. Protecting it from creeps like you who make it weak and sorrowful. Everything, from the trees, to the people living in the great cities all over the globe, deserve to live. They deserve to decide their own fate, not have it chosen for them. It's not just my job, but all of ours, to treat it all with respect. Watching over the Master Emerald for so long has taught me to fulfil any duty given to you. It's not a curse – it's a blessing. And with it, I'll pummel anyone who disrespects it, and this planet!"

Silent, Surge turned his attention to the dark sky, contemplating the echidna's words. "We'll see who's ideals...become reality, when the time is right." Waving casually, the lion threw the machine into the portal, and then stepped in after it. "Ciao."

Knuckles watched the man disappear into the portal, then glanced upwards to the snow filled sky, picking out the blue biplane that Tails took so much pride in. In it, he also noticed Cream and Amy, all of them sporting a less than enthusiastic expression. The crimson echidna sighed heavily, and waved his arms above his head, signalling the young pilot of his whereabouts.

**Location: Tails Workshop**

Light fizzled and jumped from Vector as he shot out of the portal hanging in the living room. The collection of shocked expressions followed the crocodile as he smashed against the sofa. Wood snapped and fabric ripped, the piece of furniture giving way under the force of the impact. With a heavy groan, the detective struggled to his feet, glancing around for Espio and Charmy. The remaining heroes gathered in close, pondering what their friend was looking for, until Sonic finally spoke up.

"Dude, are you okay?" he whispered, clearly worried for his comrade. The various gashes hadn't escaped his attention, as well as the Chaos Emerald laying on the floor. "What happened to Espio and Charmy?"

Then it clicked like a lightbulb going off in his head. "We jumped in after one of those hooligans back in Apotos! They took Charmy, so we tried to get him back..." Remembering the details within the wormhole, Vector glanced at his feet. "I guess I got spat out of that weird tunnel with the Emerald in all that quarreling instead of Espio and Charmy...

"On the bright side, you brought a Chaos Emerald!" Amy cheered, admiring the gem's polished edges in her hands. "Now we have a way to find the others, right?"

"Weird...tunnel? What do you mean, Vector?" Tails asked with intrigue, already formulating a plan to find the base that Dusk operated from. Everyone had taken a seat around the round coffee table, listening to the details their comrade had to offer. Tails and Professor Pickle each stood attentive, ready to soak in all the information he spewed.

"Yeah, those weird portals those guys always disappeared through," he recalled, glancing upwards, as if imaging everything. "They lead to weird tunnels of light, or somethin'. Everything was moving so fast, I couldn't really tell."

"It sounds like Chaos Control," Knuckles interjected, opening his eyes. "The portals must be a form of time/space manipulation."

"I'll bet they're using the combined energy of the Chaos Emeralds to generate them," Tails added, crossing his arms to think. "I wonder if we'll be able to track the where-a bouts of the other Emeralds with the one you brought back?"

Everyone had fixated their attention on Tails and the Professor, awaiting a plan of action. Though they may not have had a vote, or election, the group unanimously saw the young fox as their leader. It was no surprise, though. His intellect, strategic thinking and patience were far beyond any of the others. Even before the half-decade of peace, Tails had managed to lead his comrades into battle, managing to formulate plans on the fly. While Sonic was the first to jump into battle, and lead the others into action, it always began with the younger of the two brothers. He saw everything five steps ahead – he had to, of course. With a rival like Doctor Robotnik, there was no time to doddle. Now, he was really being put to the test.

"Knuckles, do you think you could trace the other six Emeralds with that one?" the young fox asked quickly, a plan coming to fruition.

"I can try, but I wouldn't be able to teleport all of us there w,ith just on-" Before the guardian had a chance to finish, Tails rushed out of the room. Returning not even a minute later, he presented the pseudo gem he had developed during the Ark Incident.

"What if you had this?"

"I could maybe use two, but it'd depend on the distance," Knuckles replied, glancing at Sonic. "If both Sonic and I used Chaos Control at the same time, we'd have a much better chance."

Hopeful gazes from all around the room landed on the famous blue hero, eager for a response. "Leave it to me!" He snickered with a wink.

Already the morale of the group had been lifted. Sonic's zeal went unmatched amongst the heroes, and he always managed to bring up their spirits. Now, everyone had grown restless. The two Chao owned by Amy and Cream had started to flutter around the room in delight, while chatter erupted amongst the heroes present. Each of them had separate goals in mind, and each knew everything would be coming to a close in a few short hours. After years of fighting, it had been instilled into their psyches. They could sense coming triumph from a mile away. But still, uncertainty lingered in Tails mind as he watched Knuckles meditate with the Chaos Emerald in his grasp.

"I think I've got it," Knuckles informed quietly, causing the group to quiet down. "I can feel the other Six and the Master Emerald along Ruin Beach, just south of Westopolis."

"Think you can take us there? Knowing Charmy, he's probably gotten himself into a whole mess of trouble by now," Vector questioned quickly.

"Yeah, but Sonic will have to give me some extra juice with that copy Tails made," the guardian replied, and stood up.

Cheers had filled the room, and everyone gathered around the scarlet warrior, save for Professor Pickle. One by one, the heroes joined hands – much to Amy's delight, who had taken place beside Sonic. Gripping the Chaos Emeralds tightly in their hands, Sonic and Knuckles nodded at each other, a smirk gracing each of their muzzles. Professor Pickle smiled from the arm chair in the corner, sipping his tea.

"Good luck," he exclaimed.

Then, as the rival's arms collided, a barrier of energy expanded across the room. Following quickly after, a field of pure, white light engulfed the heroes. Suddenly the energy dwindled, and the light vanished, leaving the old Professor with his tea and book.

**Location: Dusk Hideout**

"Come 'ere ya' little shit!" Hurricane snarled, sending forth a blast of condensed air.

The young bee yelped and twisted in the air, narrowly avoiding the attack. Rock columns tumbled to the ground violently, creating a cloud of dust. Using the debris to his advantage, Charmy darted through, causing his pursuer to snarl furiously. The loudmouthed monkey ran through the debris, and then pivoted on his heel and jumped upwards, spinning. A vortex expanded around his body, dispersing the cloud of debris just in time for him to see Charmy swerve around a corner. Growling and cursing, Hurricane dropped to the ground and chased after his prey.

Sliding around the corner, Hurricane watched the young bee ascend the flight of stairs leading to the alter room. The murals on the walls passed by in blurred images, and with a powerful jump, Hurricane cleared the stairs and tackled Charmy to the ground viciously. The young bee yelped, and as the two tumbled along the floor of the destroyed room, Crush jumped from a violet portal, watching the duo wrestle for dominance. A scowl filled her features, and then with a swing of her arms, two jets of water shot from the ground and slung around the bee. The metallic furred fox yanked the bee away, and suspended him in the air.

"What the hell?!" Hurricane shouted viciously. "Why'd ya' do that, you bitch?!"

"Because you're obviously to incompetent to handle a little kid!"

"Hey! I'm not a -"

"Shut up!" The Dusk duo barked.

However, a row of portals opened up within the room. From them, the remaining Phase 1 agents stepped through, along with Galaxy. Rage filled his eyes as he glanced at Athana's dead body, bringing everyone's attention to the massacre as well. Gaia stammered, choking back his tears, while the others simply looked on with indifference. An arm of black energy shot through the ground, and clutched the dead mouse, dragging her back through the rock. Charmy screamed against the tendril of water wrapped around his mouth, and the closer Galaxy got to him, the more fear filled his body.

"What do we have here?" the Royal soldier questioned with intrigue.

"This kid and his friends tried to stop the Planet Eater back in Apotos," Hurricane explained with pride. "But I caught him!"

"Like hell you did," Crush scoffed.

"Silence!" Galaxy snapped, small tendrils of dark energy beginning to wrap around Charmy, in place of the water. Before long, the water disappeared, allowing the cat to drag Charmy over to his throne. "It seems as though we've just found the perfect candidate for Polaris."

**Elsewhere...**

In a flash of blinding light, the group of heroes materialized from Chaos Control, which threw them each to the ground. With a whistle, the confident blue hero admired the gaping entrance to the base, guarded by gigantic stone pillars on each side.

Walking to Sonic's side, Tails stared at the device around his wrist, determining the right route to the Master Emerald and other Chaos Emeralds.

"So where do we go?" Knuckles asked calmly, taking his spot beside Tails, while the rest of the group waited, talking amongst themselves.

"My GPS is saying to just head straight ahead for now," Tails responded with uncertainty, scanning the path alight with torches.

"Then I guess...hey, wait, what's that?" Sonic pointed out, squinting at the two figures stumbling through the darkness.

Once the light had illuminated them entirely, the blue hero gasped and sped over to his comrades, with Knuckles at his side. The heroes each tended to Shadow, easing him up over their shoulders. "What happened to you guys?" Sonic asked, leading the dark hedgehog back to the group.

"Dusk had taken Rouge before we got captured," Shadow informed weakly. "We just barely escaped Galaxy...he's lost it."

"What are you all doing here?" the ivory bat asked in concern.

Sitting Shadow down against a tree, the group had now formed a circle around the rogue GUN agent. "We're heading in to stop all this madness!" Mighty exclaimed.

"You'll all be killed," Shadow snorted. "He's about to do something big. If I hadn't of gotten in there when I did, Rouge would've been killed."

"Did he say what he's doing?" Amy asked curiously.

"A lot of maniacal nonsense," Rouge filled in, noticing Shadow growing increasingly weaker. "He was talking about using me as a sacrifice for something. Although I'm not sure what for.

"Do you think he's planning to use the Twilight Keys like Eggman did, Sonic?" Tails asked quietly, fear lacing his words.

"That's impossible...I killed the creature Eggman was using..." the blue hero replied, doubt filling his thoughts. "Atleast, I thought I had."

"Do you think you could use Chaos Control, Shadow?" Knuckles questioned, holding the real gem out to the antihero.

Glancing at the gem briefly, Shadow clutched it, allowing the energy to run through his body. "How'd you get this?"

"One of those terrorists lost it when Espio and I chased after him to get Charmy," the crocodile explained. "Think you could take us to Galaxy?"

"We have the fake Emerald Tails made awhile ago, too," Mighty added, as Sonic pulled it from his quills.

"Alright, but be prepared," the dark hedgehog warned, standing up slowly. "His henchmen are probably back with him now. There's no telling what he's planning."

Each of the heroes nodded, and surrounded the hedgehog twins. The duo quickly summoned the powers of the gems, and then crossed arms above their heads.

"Chaos...CONTROL!"

**Location: Throne Room, Dusk Base**

Grinning wide, Galaxy watched as the group of heroes appeared before him. Above, the statue that resembled Polaris cupped the Master Emerald, and the six Chaos Emeralds in its claws. The cat pulled his hood back, and walked towards the heroes, earning glares and sneers from them all. Stopping in the centre of the destroyed room, Galaxy chuckled, and his group surrounded him, each holding a Twilight Key. Then, the cat pulled the final key from his cloak, and from another portal, Charmy fell to the ground. The crocodile grunted in fear, watching his team mate struggle against the dark tendrils, however he wondered where Espio had gone.

"What'd you do with Espio?!" Vector hollered. "And let him go! Or I'll pummel you all!"

However, a figure then jumped from the corner of the room, his camouflage disappearing. Espio stood confidently in front of the group, a battle knife at the ready in his hand. "Don't worry, I've been here the entire time. I guess my plan worked, since you got the Emerald. I've been watching over Charmy this whole time, just in case."

An enraged look washed over Galaxy, as he stared at the calm hero, beginning to lose it. "Wh-what?!"

"What do you mean?" Mighty asked in confusion, voicing the question everyone had been thinking.

"I figured Hurricane was going to run back to Galaxy, or the base atleast," he answered, staring ahead at Dusk. "But I knew we had no leads on where they were hiding out. So I let myself get taken with Hurricane and Charmy. However, I'm not sure where Vector ended up – you guys I'm assuming. Since Vector had the Emerald, I had no doubt that Tails could locate the rest, which were without a doubt with Galaxy."

"Nice detective work..." Galaxy sneered angrily, then motioned behind him to the other Dusk agents.

Seven pedestals rose from the ground, and soon six of them were occupied with one of the mystical orbs. Galaxy snickered, turning around to the pedestal behind him, and set the orb in. The world seemed to shake, and then the Chaos Emeralds each lit up one by one, and shot into the sky. The seven gems spun around at light speed, while in the centre a portal begun to open up, recreating the hellish scene from five years ago. Before long, the Emeralds expanded, the portal within expanding with them. Then, a white flash filled the sky, and from within the void a beast began to crawl through. Sonic's face turned pale, and everyone watched in horror as the creature they believed to have been dead resurfaced inch by inch.

Black smoke billowed away from the clean-cut edges of the Master Emerald, as it spiralled up into the abyss that the beast resided in. Both Vector and Espio broke free from the perplexing sight above them, just in time to see the fire-wielding Dusk agent tugging Charmy across the ground towards their leader. Acting fast, the duo thrust themselves forth, each of their fists crashing against Gantz's cheek. Losing hold of the bee, the fiery tempered tanuki tumbled across the ground violently, only for two others to take his place.

"Get away from him!" Vector yelled angrily as the others prepared to fight.

But, before anyone could process what had happened, Galaxy appeared in the middle of it all, clutching the sobbing bee in his grip. Malicious eyes stared deep into the moist orbs of Charmy's, and then they both faded away into a storm of black particles. The dust like material reformed at the strange alter, allowing Galaxy to hoist the young Chaotix member into the dark sky. Thunder cracked, and lighting lit up the darkness. Galaxy's insane cackle reverberated through the base, then, without warning a flash of blinding white light struck the alter.

"_A nation which makes the final sacrifice for the life and freedom does not get beaten." ~ Abraham Towers – GUN Supreme Commander, 1992_

**To Be Continued**


	44. Chapter 44: Man Made Disaster

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 43: Man Made Disaster**

**Location: Ruined Dusk Hideout**

High above the heroes, the beast that once threatened the safety of human life lingered in the sky. It's gaping, fanged maw hung open, revealing the dark abyss leading to it's belly. A thundering screech left the beast, shaking the planet as if it were made of plastic, warning everyone of it's return. Though, how could anyone not see it?

The clouds lingering in the sky seemed to orbit the gargantuan beast, as if worshipping its very presence. Dread swept across each of the heroes, sapping them of all the hope they once possessed. Standing triumphantly before them, Galaxy begun to cackle as the Chaos Emeralds floated around the Master Emerald to his left. Black smoke billowed out of the cracks forming across the gem's polished exterior, giving it a poisonous appearance. Slowly the divine green shine of the Master Emerald faded, as darkness surrounded its innards like clouds of smoke. The Chaos Emeralds followed the same fate, becoming smoking rocks around their master.

With a quick kick to the limp boy at his feet, Charmy tumbled down the stair case, and into the dirt at Vector and Espio's feet. They scooped him up, and shook him desperately, doing their best to hold back the inevitable tears. Although they didn't want to believe it were true, they knew in the back of their minds it was. It took every ounce of strength for Espio to voice the words through his tears, his hand resting on his young companion.

"He's...dead."

Everyone grew quiet, but Galaxy quickly broke the silence from his faint chuckle. Seven portals spun to life around him, as his underlings walked through. Sonic rushed forward in rage, his fist balled up tighter than ever before. With a powerful leap, the blue hero shot upwards in a burst of blue light and struck his enemy's cheek viciously. However, upon impact, the body of the demonic cat simply vaporized into a flurry of particles and moved through the blue hero. Sonic's quills wavered violently, and the cat reformed behind him. By now, his comrades had rushed to take action, only to be abruptly stopped by the presence of the remaining Dusk agents.

"What do you think you'll gain from all this?" Sonic shouted, the dark energy of the Master Emerald beginning to reach out to him. "Don't you realize what're you doing? That thing will destroy us all! Eggman tried controlling it, but he was killed too!"

"Foolish, hedgehog," Galaxy retorted, walking to the center of the base while the Chaos Emeralds floated around him. "The Doctor was but a puppet to the powers of Polaris. He cloned himself to try and bypass the one thing he overlooked. A sacrifice of someone that bears no alike blood to the summoner must be presented."

"So Charmy is really...gone..." Vector murmured, staring down at his young friend.

"He was the last piece to my puzzle, and soon," the indigo cat looked towards the other heroes. "You'll all face the same fates! Once Polaris is fully active, and has been released from the shackles of its eternal prison, this pitiful planet will be mine!"

"What makes you so sure?" Shadow barked. "You're a coward, and cowards all crumble."

"We'll see about that." The dark cat roared, and before any of the heroes could react, a portal swallowed them up, sucking them into oblivion.

**Location: Pride Canyon, Mazuri – Time Until Release: 1 Hour and 55 Minutes**

A vortex of purple, black and indigo light exploded through the fog of the desolate, dried up sea. From within, Amy tumbled to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust in her wake. A gentle groan escaped her lips as she rubbed her forehead gently, tending to the gash on her temple. A bright green object flashed across the horizon, then plummeted to the earth in the distance. A wave of dust, smoke and debris swept along the gaping stone walls, forcing Amy to sling her arm in front of her to guard her eyes. Once the sand storm had stopped, the young rose glanced up at the dark clouds churning high above, the hairs on her neck standing on end with each crack of thunder. Turning her attention ahead, Amy glanced around her, trying to get a grip on her surroundings.

"Where am I?" she wondered aloud, awe filling her voice.

Waterfalls crashed all around her, yet the area remain completely dry. Upon closer inspection, Amy learned that the elegant streams of water delved straight into the earth through long, carved out tunnels into the depths of the planet. The sounds of crashing water simply funnelled upwards from wherever it was the water ended. With a heavy sigh, the pink furred hero glanced back at the trail of smoke looming in the distance, quickly deducting it to be a Chaos Emerald.

"I wonder how it got here...Better yet, how did _I _get here?"

"My master sent you here," a familiar voice bellowed.

Green eyes darted up to an overhanging cliff, finding the bulky figure of Gaia standing still. His arms remained crossed over his broad chest, and a challenging smirk graced his mouth. Though she couldn't see his eyes through the thick, shaggy hair covering them, she knew he was delighted with their situation by his lips. Swiping her left hand to her side, a shaft of sparkling light suddenly shot upwards to create first a white pole, then, the head of a hammer. Amy was definitely ready to show this man a lesson, especially after their last run in.

"What are _you _doing here, freakshow?" She barked, getting ready to fight. "Shouldn't you be kissing your leaders ass?"

"No, we were sent to kill you all before you had a chance to meddle with our masters plan!"

Now anger had taken her over, and he'd be sorry for the pain he caused the families of Shamar. Dust jumped up at Amy's heels as she shot into the air with such velocity Gaia couldn't defend himself. Rock cracked and shattered under the force of her swing, but Gaia knocked her away with ease. Small fragments of his mineral armour clattered to the ground, and before they could settle, the gigantic bear had already cleared the distance between him and the shocked girl.

A rock infused fist collided with Amy's cheek, and she rocketed backwards across the desolate terrain that surrounded them. After finally managing to gain her bearings, the young warrior flipped back onto her feet just in time to block another punch with her hammer. An eerie grin crept along the man's mouth, and suddenly his body collapsed into a mound of sand. Quickly jumping back in shock, Amy kicked at the hands lurching upwards from the pile of rock particles, then smashed her hammer into it. The force launched her up into the air and away from the ghastly formation, allowing her to form a plan.

"Come back girly, I'm sorry!" The voice seemed to haunt the canyon. It echoed off of the walls, until finally becoming a booming laughter.

A sharp gasp left Amy's lungs, watching as large stone arms reached free from the solid walls around her. Wide, green eyes stared at the terrifying sight, but before she could fully take in the event, one of the arms reached for her. The agile hedgehog leaped backwards just in time, before the hand trampled her. Rock and debris shot upwards from the impact, and then another limb shot forth from the chaos, reaching for her again. Having grown sick of the creepy tricks, Amy heaved her hammer to the side, smashing it against the fist aimed at her back. Cracks shot down the forearm, when suddenly it exploded in a storm of rock and dirt. With another swing of her hammer, Amy veered forwards and smashed it against a fourth stone fist, shattering it like the last.

"Heh, I guess you aren't so strong, buster!" Amy remarked confidently.

However, just as the storm of rock and dirt had begun to clear, a group of four other hands shot up around her. First, one ensnared her between it's solid fingers, then the other three followed suit – quite quickly, too. The magical hammer that she had become so skilled with dropped to the ground and disappeared along with her hope. The teenage hedgehog growled viciously against the grip of her opponent, noticing him walk out of the canyon wall with a terrifying smile.

Pillars of rock formed beneath his each and every step, bringing him in front of Amy. The cloak that hugged his figure fluttered off into the distance, revealing his forest green fur to the young hedgehog. Gaia stroked the struggling girls cheek gently, tears forming in his eyes the longer he stared at her face.

"She didn't have to die either." His voice croaked, bringing him closer to tears. "I didn't get the chance to tell her how I felt. But, she was murdered. It's not fair..._**It's not fair!**_"

Gaia reeled his fist back, which had collected tons of rock around it. Amy watched in absolute terror, feeling her end grow near. Regrets, memories...everything begun to flood her mind. And like the opponent standing before her, she too burst into tears. She didn't want to die – not here. Not so soon. He growled and pulled his tightly compacted fist towards her, ready to end the pitiful girl. Amy clammed her eyes shut, bracing for her inevitable death.

After what felt like an eternity, Amy peered through hazy eyes, hearing a deafening crash. Confused, and generally thankful, Amy glanced around on the ground, only to find Cream. Hovering quietly at each shoulder, Cheese and Thorn chirped happily and presented the Green Chaos Emerald. Then, the tight grip around her body disappeared, and the solid appendages dropped to the ground in a sea of sand. Stumbling after landing, Amy's eyes darted around the battlefield, searching for her insane opponent.

Embedded high above the canyon floor, Gaia seemed to twitch within the imprint he had made in the stone. Amy whistled in shock, and then turned to her best friend to hug her as tight as she could. With a short giggle, Cream smiled and the two stood side by side to face the Dusk agent.

"How did you manage to shoot him that far up?" Amy asked, bewilderment in her voice.

"My mom was Chao Handler when she was young, too. She taught me a lot of things! Thorn has a lot of potential, too!"

However, with a short lived victory, both Amy and Cream jumped to the defensive. Rock crumbled and fractured under Gaia's sudden weight gain, while his fur started to turn metallic, mirroring the surface of the heavenly gem within Cream's grasp. Seismic tremors rumbled beneath the heroes feet as Gaia smashed to the earth. Slabs of earth shot upwards around his body, and from within the crater, a haunting laugh filled the battlefield. Moving into a ready position, the girls prepared for what was to come, each of them getting a terrible feeling. From within the newly formed hole, stepped Gaia, his fur now reflecting the sunlight from above like glass. The sound of cracking bones then filled the air, and barbs of diamond pierced through his back, creating deadly spines.

Each step produced another feature to his diamond armour. He was morphing like a creature from outer space. Amy and Cream took four trembling steps backwards, trying to figure out how they'd stop such a monster.

Rock, diamond and steel began to encase his fists, causing them to double in size. Diamond plates darted up from his neck, encasing his head in an impenetrable helmet, leaving only his never before seen eyes visible. Eerie, glowing blue orbs shone from behind the shadows of the mask. Then, with a quick lunge forward, Gaia slammed his armoured fist into the earth. The ground rumbled dangerously, then split open at a rapid pace. Both Amy and Cream jumped out of the way, only to notice the spears of black rock erupting all around them. Amy quickly summoned her hammer once more, then pivoted on her heel just as one of the spears shot up beside her. The golden face of her mallet slammed against the spear, crushing into little particles. Dust scattered as the fiery willed girl jumped upwards, narrowly avoiding being skewered by a swarm of barbed spires.

Meanwhile, Cream had been left to avoid Gaia's onslaught of attacks. Green barriers of light continuously flickered around the young rabbit, becoming weaker with each terrifying blow. Gaia howled and then thrust his right fist down at the rabbit, and upon impact, eight piercing shafts of rock jutted up into the barrier along with his fist. Cream gasped, realizing her barrier beginning to break, watching as the surrounding spears just barely made it through.

As quickly as they had come, they disappeared the second Gaia jumped back. With a relieved sigh, the young rabbit prepared herself for what was next, but much to her dismay, Amy had taken the initiative and attacked.

With a mighty swing of her mallet, Gaia rocketed across the canyon floor, leaving craters in his wake. Geysers shot up from the sudden disturbance, showering the once dry landscape in much needed moisture. Amy dashed through the mist and swung her hammer back around to crush Gaia's armour even more, intent on shattering every one of his bones. Blue eyes darted up from his limp, broken right arm, forcing him to use the weaker of his limbs. Metal met with diamond in an unrelenting clash of power, sending shock waves rippling through the canyon. The armour surrounding Gaia's muscular arm began to crack, giving way under the pressure from Amy's swing.

"I remember who you are now, little girl." Gaia remarked, his armour beginning to chip away. "You're a _Rose_!"

Her name seemed to strike delight in him. As if he took pleasure from uttering her name. Disgusted, Amy jumped away from her attacker, quickly to be joined by Cream.

"What's it to ya, creep?" The pink hedgehog shouted angrily.

"How are your aunt and uncle...Amy?" He bellowed, laughter following close behind.

To these words, her face grew pale. Her trembling hands causing her to drop her lethal weapon. "How do you know about them?"

The helmet protecting the bears face suddenly receded, allowing his sorrow stricken face to be seen. "You're the girl I let escape that night, aren't you?"

_Flashback_

_The darkness of night seemed to shroud the truth so well, but yet, it was all too clear to her. It would be to anyone witnessing such an event. Blood soaked the elegant carpeting that graced the floor of the prestigious Rose manor. Though, it had a source. _

_Where? _

_Amy wasn't brave enough to find out. Besides, what could she of all people do? She was only five. _

_Small, trembling fingers wrapped tightly around the pendent resembling a rose and its thorn that hung around her neck. A gentle laughter echoed through the manor, and rhythmic dripping sounds filled the pauses between. Slowly, Amy crept forwards on her hands and knees, moving silently behind the elegant sofa in the living room. She could hear breathing._

_One was much too heavy to be her uncles, but she was smart enough to distinguish three people present. Suddenly a woman screamed – very loudly, in fact. Amy stopped, a chill darting down her spine. Next, she heard the pattern of dripping again, but this time it was faster. Like a faucet had been turned on just slightly. Silently working up the courage to peer behind the end of the sofa, Amy gulped._

_Her eyes widened, the sight beyond freezing her in place. Amy quickly brought her hand up to her mouth and bit, trying not to scream. Two, soulless, green eyes stared back at her. Blood leaked from the corner of the woman's mouth, forming a small puddle around her head. The matted, pink locks of hair suddenly seemed less vibrant. Her once flawless skin seemed a little bit more flawed. And that loving gaze no long existed. _

_She could feel tears running down her cheeks, dampening her frilled, white gloves. With a gentle sob, Amy tore her attention from her dead aunt – whom she had grown to know as a mother – and up to the man standing above her. She knew him as her dad, but really, he was her loving uncle. Never afraid to defend his family, and never willing to let harm come to his household. A perfect father figure._

_Through the horror, Amy hadn't even realized the shouting. The sound of her aunt's scream seemed to deafen her to all other sounds. Amy stared up at her uncle, a brilliantly colored red blade held in front of him. Trying to force herself to slow her breathing, Amy struggled to focus on the words being shouted back and forth. _

"_You monster!" The violet hedgehog roared, preparing to attack the intruder. "What are you here for?! What did we ever do to you?!"_

_Amy couldn't hear a response, but rather, a gentle laughter. It was then that the stench of blood brought her back to reality, and she remembered the dead body in front of her. Amy stumbled back, sitting on her knees as she covered her mouth, trying not to vomit. However, another voice then spoke up._

"_Forgive me," the voice stammered. Amy realized this was the intruder, but...why was he crying?_

_Rage began to swell up in her chest. Why was this wretched man **crying**? He was murdering an innocent family, continuing to live, yet he was **crying?! **Amy trembled, and without thinking thrust herself up to peer over the back of the sofa, realizing the shouting had stopped. She was met with a gruesome, yet hopeful sight. The claymore that her uncle wielded had been shoved through the intruders shoulder. Blood leaked onto the floor, mixing in with the rest. But, Amy's hope was quickly dashed at the sight of her two cousins lying motionless at the wounded mans feet. She wasn't sure if they were dead, or just unconscious. _

_She so dearly hoped for the latter. The young girl then thrust her eyes back up at the sound of the sword being wrenched free of the man's body. She gazed fearfully at his face, trying to get a glimpse of his eyes through the inky darkness. Though, despite the sickening grin on his face, tears streamed down his face and fell to the ground. Why was this sick man smiling after he just destroyed an innocent family?_

"_I'll give you five seconds to apologize," the man growled angrily, his voice croaking more often. "Or I'll kill the kids, too!"_

_Amy gasped ever so quietly. A fountain of hope had been found! Silently, Amy prayed that her uncle would give into the juvenile words of this murderer. She wanted to scream, to beg him to just apologize like the man requested. But she couldn't urge herself to do it. Amy knelt quietly as the events unfolded. Her fountain of hope growing dry with each second that passed._

"_Four," he murmured, earning an annoyed growl from Amy's uncle. "Five."_

_Before the violet hedgehog could even so much as scoff, spears of rock exploded through the carpet, impaling the sword wielding man and the teenagers. Blood sprayed across every inch of the room, forever staining the manor of the treachery taking place. _

_That was the last straw. She couldn't take anymore._

_Tears gushed from her eyes, and before she could bite her hand as she always did, she screamed. At the top her lungs. The scream seemed to shake the room, but of course the imagination of a child is always crazy. The man thrust his worried eyes to the source of the scream, landing on the sofa. Amy had slumped to the ground, and rolled up into a ball on the ground. She sobbed uncontrollably, realizing that she too would face the same fate as her family. Hearing the heavy footsteps of the murderer stomp closer, her crying became more intense. _

_Distant, happy memories of being with her mom, dad, brother, aunt, uncle and cousins raced through her head. She wanted to hug her own family again, and say goodbye._

_Then she felt her weight being pulled upwards by her waist. Her small hands remained clamped over her eyes, but the sound of crying, like her own, caught her attention. Hesitantly she peered at her family's murderer, finding his blue eyes bloodshot, and his cheeks wet._

"_Sorry," he muttered. "I didn't want to."_

_Then, he set her back down and disappeared into the shadows of the manor. The smell of blood finally overwhelmed the young girl, as she fell back to the ground and crawled behind the curtains, continuing to cry amidst the gore._

_End Flashback_

"You're...the one that broke out of the asylum that night," Amy muttered horrifically. She stared deep into Gaia's glowing blue eyes. "You're the one who killed my family. They were all I had, and you took them all away from me! I sat and watched as you murdered them! All you had to say to me after...was..._sorry?" _

Her voice became weak at that word. That one word he seemed to repeat whenever she was around him. It all made sense now.

She didn't ever want to hear it again. Finally her knees became weak, and Amy fell to the ground, breaking down into tears. Cream quickly knelt by her side, holding the pink hedgehog close to try and provide whatever comfort she could. Standing quietly across from them, Gaia too begun to cry. His helmet returned to conceal his face, while the diamond armour repaired itself. The broken limb quickly fell to the ground, allowing for a limb made entirely of rock to take its place. His sobbing mixed in with Amy's, and the closer he got, the louder he became.

"Everything about that night...no, those next three years became a nightmare. Something that I shoved away to the back of mind. I never wanted to hear your name, or those words again. I pretended like that night never happened...like it was all a dream. But, here you are...still as real as ever. Don't you feel remorse? Have you forgotten about me, or my family? Or were we just another number in a sick game of yours?"

Amy turned her attention to Gaia, becoming angry. "Why did you do it?! What made you choose our home?!"

Cream turned her attention to Gaia, fear, sorrow and anger washing across her usually happy face. Both Cheese and the newcomer, Thorn, swarmed around the two friends just as Gaia jumped towards them. Then, a powerful blast of green light expanded out from Creams wristbands. Gaia smashed against the barrier, his armour chipping away particle by particle. Within, he could hear Amy's sobs, but then the barrier expanded at such an intense velocity, Gaia shot backwards faster than the speed of sound. The sudden acceleration and sonic boom numbed his ears, causing them to ring. The bear flew through the sky, spinning head over heels, then smashed head first into the rock. The ground shook from the impact, while the barrier shrunk back into Cream. The duo sat in silence, with the exception of occasional weeps from the young pink hero. Cream held her friend close, watching their immobile foe in the distance.

"I was supposed to be given...paradise."

The words seemed to linger across the air. Like an airborne poison. Amy pressed her hands against her ears, then turned her attention to glare at the man. The canyon shook once more as Gaia flopped onto his back, his chest slowly rising and dropping. Slowly a light engulfed his body, chunks of his armour and flesh dissolving into the air like paper in the gentle wind. After the light disappeared, lay a frail, hollow figure. His limbs nothing more than skin and bone, while blood leaked from the severed stub that was his arm.

Despite his weak body, he stood up. His face sagged, and his hair begun to fall out in chunks of white. Amy watched in horror as he crept closer, Cream becoming equally as terrified by this point. Gaia staggered ever closer, then fell to his knees in front of Amy, smiling uncontrollably, yet his eyes seemed to reflect nothing but sadness.

"There wasn't going to be anymore sadness if I just listened. I'm a good boy."

_Flashback_

_Two men dressed in black watched through a window, gazing at a young, frail boy in a room beyond. His face void of passion, and any emotion. They were discussing something, but what, the young boy didn't know. He knew, though, it was about him. It always was. He was dying, he knew that as well. Eventually, whether it be in his sleep, or while he was eating – at any time, really – he knew he'd die. His heart was becoming increasingly weak, being unable to send the blood he needed to all the parts of his body. Though, each and every one of his organs were weak. _

_His name was Gaia, named after the Earth itself. His mother named him that because she knew he'd grow to be strong. He couldn't help but feel like a disappointment now. Gaia turned his attention back to the men behind the window. One of them pointed at him and slammed his hand on the table, shaking the cups of coffee sitting on it. Gaia clutched his weak hands around the teddy bear in his lap, holding it close to his chest like he had always done when he was scared. Even at the age of nineteen, that plush item of comfort remained his best friend._

* * *

_Worried eyes darted around at the alien tools set out around him. His eyes had been latched open by strange devices, ensuring he didn't blink when the needle pierced his pupil, and dug its way to his retina. Why such a painful place of insertion was needed, he didn't know. But he knew of one thing, and that was the promise they made to him. Whenever he cried, whenever he became unsure. He clung to that life long promise he had been told since that day they decided to take him in. He didn't know at the time, he didn't know much. But those men. Those men dressed in black were discussing if he'd be good enough. One of them fought to save him._

_So that's why he looked so angry._

_Gaia stared upwards at the covered faces of the surgeons surrounding him. One of the doctors held a needle between his fingers, ensuring it was working properly. Gaia shot his attention over to the far wall, where his saviour stood beside another man dressed in a military uniform. _

"_What an interesting hat he has," Gaia thought to himself. _

_The needle was then brought to his neck. A cold sensation caused his body to tingle, and then a razor cut away a patch of fur on his body. Gaia bit his lip, knowing what came next. The needle he saw earlier pierced his skin, causing him to lurch. He yelped briefly, then fell limp against the operating table. His head remained positioned upwards, due to the leather strap around his forehead. His eyes stared at the symbol on the ceiling, as he mouthed the letters to himself, sounding them out in his head._

"_G..."_

_Another needle neared his left eye. He wished he could move._

"_U..."_

_The needle pierced his pupil. As much as he wanted to scream, or writhe from the insidious pain being inflicted on him, he couldn't. His body, his voice – everything – didn't seem to work._

"_N..."_

_Light in his left eye receded like a candle being covered, then extinguished._

_He could hear talking and murmurs, then another needle neared his right eye. He could feel the tug as it entered, but this time it didn't hurt as much. The second time never did. His vision disappeared in that eye as well, like it always did. Everything became dark. He wanted to panic. He wanted to scream. He wanted to run._

_But he was trapped._

_His body suddenly lurched, as the table he was strapped to spun around. The cold air usually tingled his back, but not today. This would be the final operation. Today he'd be able to walk, talk, and play like a normal boy. He heard more voices, some women, some men._

_Then he felt another needle against his back. A much thicker one than other times. He jolted briefly as the device stabbed his skin and entered into the bone of his spinal column. He wasn't sure what came next, but he was certain he'd find out. He could hear shouting from the man in the black suit; his saviour was angry. A gunshot came next, and the man stopped talking. _

_He felt a liquid rush through his body. Unlike blood. It was foreign. Alien. _

_His body tingled, and he screamed._

_Wait. Screamed? The sound quickly stopped, his body being spun back around to the right side up._

"_What...happened?" he murmured, completely shocked by his new found ability to speak._

"_You're now a product of GUN, young man," the man in the fancy hat proclaimed with a scowl. "Your new name is H003. In the next couple hours, you'll begin to feel your muscles ache. They will be growing. You mustn't walk during this time. By tomorrow, you will be trained to control molecules of rock and mineral. We expect you will grow to be around six feet tall by two days. However, you are programmed with movements from a computer. You can walk, and react, but through our commanders. If at any time you disable the microchip implanted in your spine, your body will recede back to it's former build at the age of 30. We are not responsible for any impulsive actions prior deactivation of the obedience chip. Understood?"_

"_Yes," Gaia replied._

_End Flashback_

"I'm sorry."

Gaia slumped over on the ground, his body no longer moving. Blood continued to drain from his wound, while Cream and Amy stared in horror at the man before him. What he meant, they weren't sure. But it was all over now. Amy watched the man quietly, memories of her family running through her racing mind.

Justice had been dealt.

"_We as human beings are called to love, and be loved. For what is life without love?" ~ Tikal the Echidna - Echidnian Scholar, __2 Years Prior the Destruction of the Knuckles Tribe._

**To Be Continued**


	45. Chapter 45: Heart of a Warrior

**`Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 45: Heart of Warrior**

"_The two most powerful warriors are time and patience."_

**Location: Tidal Bay, Adabat – Time Until Release: 1 Hour and 30 Minutes**

High above the clouds, the beast that once threatened the safety of earth loomed over all humanity. Swirling energies clung to its body, heaving it forth from the portal it resided within. It's very presence seemed to cause chaos and destruction, leaving all sense of security ruined in its wake. Staring quietly from the sea ravaged shores, Knuckles the Echidna sighed, his body tingling from the storm churning overhead in the heavens. Turning his attention towards the field behind him, the Guardian watched as a portal spun open, allowing a familiar character to stroll through.

Electricity glistened at the heels of the lion, while his fingers seemed to twitch with power. Surge stopped, and stared at the beast in the distance, ignoring his adversaries vicious glare.

"It's kind of alarming, isn't it? To know that the world is going to suddenly just end, without any warning or signal," he commented quietly, his voice calm. "I used to be afraid of the end of the world; to the point where I lost sleep over it. It wasn't healthy. But, do you know what my father taught me?"

"I don't really care, but I have a feeling you'll tell me anyway," Knuckles quipped angrily, crossing his muscular arms as he prepared for the speech.

Sighing gently, Surge leaned over to pluck a flower from the ground. "He taught me that even though there's an end, there's a new beginning. Our world is a phoenix constantly rising from the ashes of its ruin."

Electrifying turquoise eyes scanned the fragile organism gripped in his fingers. Paying no mind to the rumbling roars of thunder in the sky, Surge plucked a petal free of its home on the flower, letting it sail off into the wind.

"Ruin comes from both natural and humanistic causes. People say destruction by the hand of humanity is evil. But what if it were to protect – rather than conquer?"

"I say that's a load of bullshit!" Knuckles retorted quickly, stomping forth towards his adversary. "We're in no position to choose the time of death for a person, or nature. That's not our job!"

The terrifyingly calm eyes of Surge whisked across the warrior before him, trying to determine what it was exactly that made him so stubborn. Whilst crossing his arms, the cloak that signified his allegiance suddenly burst into flames, revealing his black vest and yellow fur. The man took a step towards the echidna, grass burning up in the same instant. The grey military pants around his lower body wavered in the wind, the two gems embedded in his gloves gleaming dangerously.

Blue and yellow light seemed to wrap around Surge's body as he disappeared into a flash of energy. Knuckles stumbled backwards, feeling a tight closure around his throat. Blinking his eyes, Knuckles found Surge to have materialized in front of him, heaving the echidna's body into the air above treacherous waters.

"I see you cling to your juvenile truths more than ever, Guardian," Surge remarked with a light sigh. His long tail wavered with quick, rigid motions, as if it were lightning. "What's it gonna take for me to break you? Huh?"

"A lot, unfortunately for you. Why don't we see who breaks first?" Knuckles retorted, heaving his fist upwards to strike his foe, only to punch the air. "I'm not one to back down in times of desperation!"

Electricity crackled around a golden portal, which then gave birth to the lion whom embodied lightning itself. His calm eyes watched the ferocity gathering in Knuckles' aura, as small embers glistened upwards from the ground. Surge walked a semi circle around the echidna, taking in the battlefield. His heart beat gently up against his chest, while every trace of Chaos Energy evident in his body began to charge up with the static present in the air. Thunder grumbled in the clouds, as flashes of light glistened across the heavens. Gazing towards Knuckles, the young lion sighed and leaned forwards, his body beginning to dematerialize into a flash of light.

Knuckles grunted and thrust his fist towards his target, only to strike a leaf. Prying the impaled piece of vegetation free of his glove, Knuckles spun around at the sound of breathing, only to meet with Surge's electrically charged fist. Static danced across the guardians body, paralysing him momentarily and allowing for Surge to swing his right fist upwards into the scarlet warrior's chin. Knuckles toppled back onto the field, groaning heavily from the painful blow. Rubbing his jaw, the echidna stumbled back up to his feet, finding his enemy to have disappeared once more.

"Is this how you intend to _break _me, Guardian?" Surge remarked, cracking his knuckles one by one as he strolled the cliffs edge. "I haven't even started to get serious yet, and you've already got a bloody lip."

The embers that had shrouded Knuckles suddenly returned in a dazzling aura of flame, vanquishing the grass at his feet. "Don't worry, I was just testing out a theory!"

Quirking a brow, Surge stopped and crossed his arms, the gusts of wind tugging at his body, threatening to suck him into the ocean. "A theory you say? You can try and determine any detail you like, but the fact of the matter is...I _am _going to kill you."

In the blink of an eye, the electrical lion materialized in front of Knuckles, his fist surrounded in a layer of crackling static. Knuckles mouth gaped, his arms swinging up in the nick of time to block the terrifyingly strong blow. A shockwave burst forth from impact, and then, the crimson echidna tumbled backwards, dust trailing close behind him.

"You're weak.. that's the problem. You aren't capable of protecting anything," Surge remarked with a scowl.

A flash of electricity glistened in the air behind the tumbling echidna, then, a mighty grasp wrapped around his neck. The grass swayed violently from the turbulence, while a dazzling bolt of lightning stretched down to the earth in an instant, charring the grass the moment of impact. Blood leaked from the hero's chest, his wound smoking and smouldering from the intense heat of his foes strike.

"Weak?" Knuckles retorted, grasping onto his chest to soak up the blood with the material of his white mitts.

The grip around his throat loosened, then, the lion had reappeared but only a couple yards away, readying another attack. Knuckles, however took the opportunity to dash towards his pursuer and land a hit. Dirt kicked up from his shoes, while flames swirled eagerly around his namesakes with each step. With a mighty roar of power, Knuckles flung his fist forth, creating a vacuum of air in the wake of his punch.

Jolting from his position, Surge cart wheeled to avoid the deadly strike, watching as the ground crumbled and churned from the power. Jumping out of the evasive action , Surge pivoted on his heel, then drove his foot into Knuckles' recovering form, sending him staggering backwards. Though his assault hadn't ended, as he jerked towards the echidna with such fury, the electricity dancing and twisting at his fists seemed to intensify – as if they were alive and excited.

"Realistically, echidna, I'm the hunter, and you're the hunted." A ferocious fist jolted against Knuckle's chest, followed quickly by another and another. Finally, the echidna dropped to his knees, panting and spitting up blood onto the grass. "You're nothing but a small little field mouse, clung to the false reality of trying to be a wolf. You're built for defence, to survive in the elements and flee from your dangers. However, _I _am the wolf."

Surge thrust his knee into the guardian's face, to which he screamed in pain. Blood masked the echidna's muzzle, staining it a deep crimson. The leather that made up the lion's footwear crinkled as he crouched down in front of his prey. Surge gripped the mighty jawline of Knuckles and tilted his head upwards.

Their eyes met, a silent war being wagered between their stares.

A lazy smirk crept along the Dusk soldiers face as he spat at Knuckles. "You are filth, Knuckles. You, and every one of your pitiful friends. And you know what happens to filth? It gets eradicated. You, and the rest of this planet will be wiped clean."

Knuckles' orbs grew wide in absolute fear. This monster he was staring at, whom he was trying so hard to suppress, was utterly insane. With a violent tug, the scarlet echidna tore free from the lion's grip, but it proved to be futile. Surge quickly lunged forth, grabbed the echidna, and in an instant the duo had appeared on the cliff's edge, overlooking the vicious tides. Knuckles struggled against the grip of his opponent, trying to find a way free, but it had become to late.

As the thunder cracked and roared, Surge heaved the echidna out over the ocean with such might, it would surprise any onlooker. The battered echidna twirled head over heels, fighting vigorously to regain his bearings. Then suddenly he caught a glance of the electrifying eyes that belonged to his foe.

Chills ran down his spine, but, he had to focus. Flames ignited at his fists, and with a great punch, a roaring ball of fire launched forth through the air. The tumbling sphere of heat devoured the lion, while the turbulence it produced shot Knuckles further from the soon to come explosion of power. Watching confidently, Knuckles' expectations shattered, watching a flash of lightning jump down from the clouds. Sparks rippled in front of him, and from a spiralling golden vortex, Surge shot through. His hands suddenly lit up with a vicious electrical charge, bolts of lightning extending far behind the lion himself.

Flashes of white hot light exploded all around the fighting duo, while chaotic storm clouds closed in from every direction. Surge fired his fist towards Knuckles, but met only a torn and charred glove. The bulky fighter quickly clasped his other hand around the lion's wrist, then heaved his weight around to throw the Dusk agent down into the ocean. Wasting no time, and as to not allow the lion a chance to escape, Knuckles dove after his opponent, a fist reeled back behind him.

Looking like nothing more than a streak of crimson in the sky, Knuckles slung his fist downwards, igniting a powerful explosion at the tip of his namesakes. The propulsion shot downwards with such devastating power, the crashing tides split apart, creating a whirlpool. Waves spun round on themselves, quickly opening up to reveal the ocean floor. Billowing clouds of smoke spun up from the descending lion, then, bursting flames and air rushed past the water, creating a pillar of fire and smoke.

Waves plunged outwards in each direction around the blast, creating a terrifying storm. In the blink of an eye, Knuckles shot through the cloud of flame, wrenching his fist into the lion's gut. "_**Dynamic Impact!**_"

A vortex of embers, rock, water and wind shot free from the point of collision between the two fighters. Time seemed to stand still. Then, the blast receded, allowing the water to crash back in on each other, swallowing up both Knuckles and Surge.

_Flashback_

_Beating down from the heavens, the sun seemed to drain the life out of everything it came in contact with. The plant life drooped, the villagers of the quiet community were strewn about lazily, trying to escape the heat. The sand that which the village had been based in radiated with the heat it gathered throughout the long days. Despite the silence of the civilians, two young boys ran and tumbled through the Sahara, their zig-zagging tails swerving in and out of the sand behind their bodies. _

_A boy with electrical yellow fur weaved in and out of the punches his older brother threw. A glove whizzed by his head, giving him the perfect opportunity to fire a punch into his siblings chest. The older lion stumbled backwards, watching as his young sibling jumped at him, planting a firm kick into his abdomen. Toppling over into the sand, the elder lion tumbled backwards along a sand dune, while the younger of the two jumped from the top, ready to strike._

_However, not even a second before the younger brother was about to throw another fist, the older lion let loose a burst of energy. The elder shot upwards from his position, and in a flash of white energy, the duo tumbled through the sand, forming a groove in the middle of the sand dune. _

"_Ah-hah!" One boy yelled triumphantly, slamming his brother down into the ground. "You lose, Surge."_

"_Oh, c'mon!" the younger boy shouted defiantly. "You totally cheated!" _

"_Did not!" The elder brother retorted, as he jumped back from a flying fist. "Don't be a sore loser!"_

"_But we agreed we couldn't use any powers! Just because I can't use mine yet, doesn't mean you can!" Surge argued, his eyes a lit with a flare of rebellion. "That isn't fair!"_

"_You really expect me to be fair, little brother?" The other lion retorted with sass. "Besiiides, we're supposed to be training as if we were in war. The enemy isn't gonna go easy on you."_

"_Whatever..." Surge grumbled, dusting his shorts off. "Shouldn't we go see if Mom is ready to take us to Spagonia?" _

_Wiping the sweat free from his brow, the older brother stared high into the sky. "I guess so. And hey, the reason I pinned you down like that is because of your carelessness. You need to pay attention to the moves your opponent makes, otherwise you'll be outsmarted."_

"_You still cheated."_

"_Oh shut up!"_

_End Flashback_

Floating quietly on the waves of the ocean, Surge watched the storm clouds high above in the sky. His hand moved out of the water slowly to dab at the wound on his stomach, the blood pouring into the salty water swishing all about his body. Memories of a lost family, a lost community and a life he so longed to recover flooded his mind, making him unaware of the crimson echidna bursting up through the waves not to far from him. Sparks started to gently crackle along the lion's arms, legs and torso, causing his muscles to twitch slightly. The lion sighed, concentrating the energy around his feet, and then, eased himself to stand on the surface of the waves, using the powerful waves of electricity at his feet to keep him up.

"You've surprised me, Guardian," Surge called out, cauterizing the impalement on his gut. Rain then begun to fall from the skies, drenching the landscape in the heaven's tears. "But unfortunately this is where I have to put a stop to you. I made a promise to my brother, and my people, that I'd achieve piece. No one will get in my way."

With a heavy groan, the scarlet echidna heaved himself out of the water, and onto a rock peering out of the sea. "I'm beginning to think you're just a delusional freak like the guy you follow!" Knuckles barked, tearing the charred remains of his gloves off his left hand, and tossing them to the water. "What happened to all the cocky banter from earlier?"

Glaring intently at the echidna, Surge begun to crack his knuckles one by one while walking towards his foe. Bolts of lightning jumped high into the sky from each step the lion took, then, a crack of thunder shook the world. The waves split upwards around the lion, turning into gigantic walls of water. A flash of lightning zipped between the crashing tidal waves, and as the walls of water crashed back to the sea, Surge thrust his fist into Knuckles. Another crack of thunder reverberated across the cliff side, the sound wave ripping apart the rocks Knuckles had been standing on. A crimson blur launched up through the cliff side, tearing through the rock and clay, allowing it to crumble and fall into the swishing waves below. Water jumped high into the air from the debris falling into it, creating a chaotic display of power with each falling chunk of stone.

Surge shot away from the insanity, using each piece of crumbling stone and rock as leverage to get to the field he had sent his opponent crashing up into. The electrical lion tumbled away from the falling cliff, paying no attention to the waves that leaped high into the sky behind him. Wasting absolutely no time, Surge dashed across the field, strikes of lightning obliterating the earth in his wake. Knuckles had finally gathered his bearings once again, and prepared a flaming punch. The crimson guardian thrust his fist to meet Surge, but found it to be too slow. The lion disappeared, then returned above the echidna, kicking a leg out into the hero's neck. Knuckles tumbled onto the grass, but rolled to avoid another vicious kick to his body.

"I think I'm starting to figure out your trick," Knuckles explained in the midst of blocking a punch from his foe. Another punch slid past his defences, cracking his jaw out of line, the sickening sound of a bone snapping lingering in the air.

Knuckles screamed in pain, blood dripping past the glove he had planted on his cheek. The echidna stumbled backwards, allowing Surge another punch. A deafening crack of thunder erupted from the body of the lion, as a flash of electricity burst away from the punch like a laser. The crimson echidna shot high up into the sky, his body twirling and spinning madly through the storm clouds. Back down on the ground, Surge sighed, his eyes locked onto his foe in the sky.

Electricity suddenly flashed to life around Surge's fists, dancing and churning with immeasurable power, "I guess this ends it."

_Flashback_

**Location: Dusty Desert, Outside Spagonia**

Embers glistened high into the sky, acting like warm stars in the night sky. Heavy, billowing clouds of smoke drifted across the desert, carrying the scent of charred wood and debris with it. No screams were heard across the Sahara, but only the frequent crackles of burning wood. Vehicles sporting the GUN insignia moved quietly through the destruction of the small town, while soldiers moved alongside, their rifles at the ready. Muffled cries of help sounded against the windows of one of the military vehicles, while one villager peered through the glass to gain sight of their destroyed home. Men in uniform and gas masks marched in and out of houses, the warm and haunting light of the burning flames illuminating the red GUN logo on each of their shoulders.

They looked like demons sent from hell.

Smashing his boot against a door, the obstacle gave way to the force and broke apart. A group of soldiers rushed into the still standing building, their weapons armed and aimed into the kitchen. Within the house, two children screamed for their lives, their small forms being hurried up a flight of stairs by their mother as she followed suit. Meanwhile, the father remained with a meat cleaver held tightly in his hand.

"What do you military pigs want from us?!" the man hollered angrily, his knuckles cracking as his grip tightened around the weapon. "I demand an answer for this insanity!"

Two soldiers suddenly stepped to the side, lowering their rifles in respect to their commanding officer. "Your village has been suspected of housing a S-Class criminal, who has been outlawed by all countries associated with GUN."

The fathers eyes wavered only slightly at the words, the GUN officer drawing closer. "We don't know anything about that! Please, leave my family be!"

"Now, now," the officer soothed, clutching the villagers shoulder. "Once we have found the criminal, any further damage or casualties will be prevented. But, until then, your home is hereby under siege."

Two gunshots echoed throughout the desolate village. Blood splattered across the wall, and face of the GUN officer, and the father of the family crumpled to the floor, his face mangled and obliterated by the power of the rifle. With a sigh, Shrike Errgon begun his ascent into the upper level of the house, his boots thumping against the wooden footsteps. Behind him, two soldiers followed, allowing the others to search the rest of the house.

"Listen... you both need to be as quiet as possible.." the mother whispered, holding her children close. Using her already tear dampened sleeve, the mother wiped her children's eyes and smiled. "You two are going to be okay. I'll protect you."

Suddenly the door swung open, causing it to nearly fly off it's hinges. The muscular anthrosentient officer strolled in, a disgusted look on his face. Beside him, two soldiers moved out to his sides, each ready to shoot. Easing her children behind her, the mother stretched her arms out in protection, a sudden vicious expression finding it's way to her face, heavily contrasting her loving and tender attitude only a second prior.

"My, what a ferocious family we have here," Shrike commented, pulling a glove off to crack his knuckles. "Now, I don't believe in killing women or children, so I'll make a wager for you. My resources have informed me that this household is withholding a national criminal. Give up the whereabouts of them, and remain free citizens, or..."

Suddenly a turquoise glow surrounded the protective woman, hoisting her up into the air and against a wall. "I'll be forced to kill your two children, and you'll be thrown in prison along with everyone else. You should feel lucky – you're the first I've given this deal to."

"You're a monster!" the woman growled, trying to fight her way free.

The small children watched their mother intently, doing their best to stay calm behind the safety of their bed. With a cruel grin Shrike stared the children down, his ungloved hand held up towards their mother. "Come here for a moment, young ones."

Fearing for their safety, the two boys crept from behind their safety and inched towards the now crouching war monster. Their eyes held unmatched fear and agony, but yet their stood confident and bold in front of this man. Two hands suddenly rested on their heads, which darted to find their mom smashing into a glass night stand and writhing in pain.

"You two wouldn't happen to know anything about a fugitive, would you?" His menacing eyes seemed to delve deep into their souls, creating such fear and terror, they swore he were death itself.

Each shook their heads quietly, to which Shrike sighed heavily. The officer stood quietly, and shooed the children to back away. Once more he neared their mother, and crouched down at her crying form. Blood dripped past the pieces of glass wedged in her body. The man rest a hand on a larger piece piercing her side and begun to twist it. A cry of agony pierced the quiet, tense air of the household. Weakly, the woman grasped the shoulder of the man, trying to push him away.

A look of disgust crept across Shrike's face, and finally, he tore the shrapnel free from her flesh. Blood oozed out on the floor, as the lady belted out in pain, clutching her wound tightly. The young boys had now began sobbing, watching as their mom fell to the sickening man before them.

"What disappoints me the most is the fact I gave you a chance," Shrike commented quietly, his hand tucked under the woman's chin to keep her face looking to his. "You lied to my face. You cannot fool a man of immeasurable resource. You see, we came here looking for you. This town was burnt to the ground. It and it's people destroyed all because of you. The man downstairs, the father of your children, lay in a pool of his own blood. All this, and you had a chance to bring safety to yourself and your children. But you lied."

Growing solemn, the wheezing mother clasped her eyes shut as tears dripped down her cheeks. However, her right arm tensed suddenly, and in the blink of an eye she swept her arm upwards. A shard of glass clutched in her bloodied hands sliced up past Shrike's face, slicing his right eye. The man suddenly shouted in pain, and fell backwards clutching his face. Blood dripped down his cheek, mixing in with the rest on the floor.

Hurriedly, the mother swept up her children in the instant a flash of light engulfed them. Bullets sailed through the portal of energy they disappeared in, leaving only the soldiers and Shrike. Seething in both and pain, Shrike stumbled back to his feet, signalling one of his men to come to his side. Unravelling a cloth from around his arm, the soldier wrapped it quickly around his superior's eye and head, then awaited his orders.

"They're still in the house," he growled and turned to walk out the doorway. "Find them and bring them to me alive."

Nodding, the soldiers rushed off down the stairs, beginning their rampant search of the household.

Meanwhile, the mother and her children sat hidden in the cellar. A soft, yet warm, green glow seemed to keep them all alive. It was providing them with a power of hope, that they'd survive. Already it saved them from being shot. The footsteps above marched and trampled on the floor over their heads, causing their breathing to be quiet and hushed.

"Mom, why does that man want you?" The elder brother asked, trying to determined why their family had been dragged into such hell.

The mother sighed quietly, and hugged her children before separating herself from them to look her children in the face. A warm smile found its way on her lips despite the situation they were in. Yet, she sighed, trying as best she could not to cry and give in to her emotions.

"This gem, it used to be property of the military. But, you see, they're not supposed to have it. They want these for things that...that aren't natural to human life. I don't want to poison your minds with such thoughts and images, but the point is, the government is doing horrible things with these gems. They're capable of...well, whatever the imagination wants. These gems, legends say they can turn thought into reality. Last week, when we went into town, a young man gave this to me and told me to protect it. He was an old friend. But I'm assuming the military saw..."

She begun to cry quietly, though she did her best to keep it at bay by biting her lip, the torment was too much. "I'm sorry, boys. This is all my fault."

Wrapping her arms around her children, they all grew quiet. The soft green glow of the emerald seemed to eliminate their fear for now, but yet, something didn't feel right. Suddenly the door to their cellar slid down the staircase in pieces, followed by three soldiers. Gasping, the mother thrust the emerald into the older boy's clutches and shoved them out through an overhead window. The young boys fought and resisted, screaming that she come with them. But as they reached and pleaded through the opening, the soldiers rushed in. A bullet sailed across the small room, and blood washed across the floor.

The young whimpered at the sight, but quickly scrambled back to their feet as another soldier began climbing through the opening. The duo ran as fast possible, the elder brother grasping tightly to both the Emerald and his younger sibling's hand.

"C'mon, Surge!" He yelled angrily and fearfully. "We gotta get outta here! Mom protected us, we can't let it all go to waste!"

"B-but...th..she's dead..."The younger boy sobbed, tripping over his feet.

Finally, the siblings rushed into the forest to the west of their home. Surge fell to his knees, whimpering and crying over the tyranny he had witnessed. The elder brother paced quietly, holding the powerful gem, half expecting it to revert everything like it were a bad dream.

"What are we gonna do, King? We have nowhere to go!" the younger brother shouted fretfully.

"We gotta run. It's not safe here, and as long as we have this, they're gonna search for us."

Suddenly, the trees cracked and bent. Wood snapped, and debris exploded all around them. A heavily armoured vehicle moved through the thick foliage as though it were nothing. Standing at the helm, Shrike directed his driver to pursue the now fleeing children. Then, as the duo plunged through the forest, a grapple shot free from the belly of the vehicle. The claw spread wide, and shot through tree trunks, snapping them like twigs on it's pursuit of the brothers.

"King!" the younger boy yelped amidst tears and heavy breaths.

"Get out of here!" Yelled the older boy.

Then, just before the grapple hauled the boy away, he threw the miracle gem towards Surge. Watching quietly as his brother shot away through the mud, the young lion gripped the emerald in his grasp. His tears cascaded from his eyes, dripping onto the slick surface of the jewel. A bright flash wrapped around the boy, like his mothers arms once would. In the next instant, he disappeared.

_End Flashback_

Lightning chirped and exploded free from the hands of the solemn lion. He crouched low, tightening his gloved hands into fists ready to kill. Then, like a laser ascending into the sky, he shot towards his prey. Lightning flickered behind him in a long, jagged tail of light. Surge smashed his fist against the echidna once more, launching his target further into the clouds. Light flickered past Knuckles, and the electrical lion thrust his fist into his opponents side, heaving him the other direction.

In the blink of an eye, Surge reappeared in front of Knuckles and slammed his fist down into the echidna's abdomen. Lightning flashed, engulfing both Surge and Knuckles. Thunder growled and rumbled across the sky, and the crimson echidna rocketed down into the ground, a bolt of energy detailing his descent. Dirt, rubble and rock burst free from the impact, a crater forming under Knuckles' body. Electricity crawled across the outskirts of the crater just as another flash of light gave way to Surge.

"You and your friends know nothing of pain. Your disgusting efforts to try and stop us are like a child trying to destroy a military force," the lion remarked, kneeling in the rubble and pulling Knuckles up by the throat.

The echidna coughed and sputtered, blooding leaking out the side of his mouth. Yet, he still retaliated with a rebellious smirk. "You may have beaten me down. But now I know the trick behind your speed. Once I get my bearings I'm gonna kick your ass, buddy."

Glaring intensely at his opponent, Surge scowled. "I've crippled you. You can hardly move, let alone talk, yet you're boasting about defeating me? You're not only weak, but insane. There isn't a thing you can do to stop a force like me. I've been molded by the hatred, greed and corruption of this nation. I've watched as my comrades and family have fallen from the hands that pretend to feed us. I've seen as the military have choked out entire villages for a cause only beneficial to themselves. You...you've lived a life of solitude. No real connection. No parents. No family. You fight for your own sickening beliefs. For your precious _freedom_."

A terrifyingly insane look suddenly burst free into Surge's eyes, followed by a grin fuelled by madness. "I fight for those who have fallen. I fight for the freedom of the oppressed. I fight to kill pieces of shit like _you._"

With a sudden overflow of power, Surge tossed the echidna out of the crater and into the ground. Though in an instant, the lion pounced on the already battered hero and begun delivering punch after punch into Knuckles' face. Over and over his fists battered the already bloodied and broken face of the Guardian. Stopping for but a moment to confirm his prey was still breathing, Surge reeled back his fist, preparing to end the life of the man beneath him.

Knuckles' bare hand then shot upwards, gripping the lion's throat. Before Surge could retaliate, Knuckles had already struggled forwards, causing them to roll back down into the deep trench that his body had created earlier. With a fed up sneer, Surge kicked the echidna away and jumped back onto the grass to watch as the Guardian tumbled and sprawled on his back weakly. However, the battered echidna slowly crawled to his feet, just barely standing.

"I guess there's a small spec of life left in you," Surge commented maliciously, his gloves dripping with the echidna's blood.

Light began to pulse up and down the echidna's flexed arm, his bare hand clutching a sphere of screaming energy that resembled a ball molded out of lightning. The elegant, blue glow radiating off of Knuckles seemed to combat the gloomy, stormy feel of the cliffside. Sparks jumped and twirled away from the readied attack, as the ball began to fizzle and distort.

"Interesting...so you have enough fight in you for an attack of that calibre?" Surge remarked, beginning to walk around the exterior of the crater. His muscles began tensing, golden energy surrounding him like electricity dancing across his limbs. "As I said, you may have me outmatched in raw strength...but I have you trumped for speed. You can't hit something you can't catch, now can you?"

"You're forgetting who one of my comrades is," Knuckles retorted, pouring more energy into the attack.

Smirking, Surge dashed forwards just as the echidna began to move his arm in preparation for attack. Knuckles watched as electrical lion disappeared through a flash of yellow – though also took note of another small glimmer of light elsewhere.

Quickly pivoting on his heel, the echidna roared like a spartan in battle and hurled the orb of lightning in his palm free. The arrow of raw energy screamed towards the small spec of light adjacent to the portal Surge had escaped through, and in the blink of an eye, the lion burst forth from the spec of light. His eyes grew wide, only to be blinded by the sheer brightness of the fizzling attack. Chirping beams of energy exploded outwards as the arrow ripped through Surge's body, creating a dome of bright energy in his place. Surge screamed in absolute agony, the heat of the attack eating away at his flesh and bone.

Finally, the attack died out, and Surge toppled to the ground. Smoke billowed up from his body, carrying the putrid scent of seared flesh with it. Knuckles, however trudged up the muddy crater and over to his defeated opponent. The echidna stood boldly above the disfigured lion. A gaping hole had been formed in Surge's abdomen, void of any signs that organs had once been there. Blood leaked away from the freshly cauterized stump that had once been an arm, the flesh still smouldering. Surge gasped for air, his blinded eyes staring blankly up into the heavens.

"How did you manage to hit me..." He wheezed, on the edge of death.

"It was your energy signature. It's identical to Chaos Control..." Knuckles paused, forcing himself not to vomit at the wretched sight below him. "Those gems that were on your gloves..they work the same as a Chaos Emerald. Except,... they made a tunnel in space...I just had to find the end you came out of."

Again, thunder rumbled in the heavens, though this time the clouds finally began to disperse. However, the rain continued pouring, washing away the scars dealt to Mother Earth in the ferocious battle that had taken place.

"It's true I have been alone...and secluded. But I come from a long line of Guardians," Knuckles explained weakly. "And I've been taught the ways of a warrior. One of those ideals is to never give up."

"Then I misjudged you, Guardian," Surge remarked with a gentle smile. "It seems as though you were the wolf all along."

_"Rather than killing to form what we are not, we must live and let live to preserve the humanity that is within."__~ Doctor Gerald Robotnik – Chaos Physicist, 1945_

**To Be Continued**

**Authors Note~ **For those of you still following this story...yes I have decided to continue. I made a vow to finish the three part Dusk series, and it will be done. Hopefully you all decide to keep along for the journey. Thankyou all for your time and support.

~Blue


	46. Chapter 46: The Fallen

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 46: The Fallen**

"_If there is no struggle, there is no progress."_

**Location: Typhoon Plains **

An unholy scream shook the planet. The beast from which it came loomed above the cities of the United Federations, it's titanic jaws ready to pry apart the Earth, and leave it asunder. Soldiers of all nations fought back the creatures that had spawned in every major city centre. Madness had ensued, and it had swallowed the planet whole in but a few days. Little did humanity know that this was just the beginning.

Two figures burst free from a portal in the sky, dropping them to the grassy plains below. First, Vector tumbled through the windy prairie, then, Espio came. Despite the destruction the planet had been experiencing, this one stretch of land seemed untouched. As though a divine force protected it for a reason unknown by any mortal.

What was left of the Chaotix stammered to their feet, still shaken up by the death of their comrade not even a minute prior. A great gust of wind pushed through the prairie, bending the long, wave like bundles of grass and wheat with it. Espio remained quiet, staring up into the sky at the beast that would devour the world as they knew it. He felt deprived of hope.

"I'm starting to get the feeling we're done for," Espio remarked, sitting down amidst the sea of green and yellow. "That guy who killed Charmy...he probably split us all up to buy himself time for that thing up in the sky."

"Do you think he's really dead?" Vector asked, catching his comrade completely off guard.

For a moment, Espio had no idea what to say, or what to even think. "I don't know, Vector. It looked pretty convincing to me. Galaxy doesn't seem like the kind of person to fool around."

With a gentle sigh, the purple chameleon sat down, his desire to fight completely diminished. Vector stared quietly at the once always battle-ready Espio, and for the first time ever, he didn't know what to do. He always had a solution, or scheme, to get his team through a tough spot. But, right now he was unsure if anyone could do anything to save them.

"I guess Havoc was wrong about Galaxy, after all," Espio commented sombrely. "All we can do right now is wait and hope that Sonic and the others can figure this out from over there."

Listening to his partner quietly, Vector snorted, anger beginning to well up within him. "What are you_ saying?! _You oughta be ashamed of yourself! Charmy was just killed by those maniacs!"

Vector stormed over to his partner and glowered down at Espio. The chameleon quickly jumped up, meeting Vector face to face, anger rising in them both. "Even now...you think we can find a way out of this? Vector you have got to be the most stupid -"

"I can't believe you, man. You're a Chaotix, and no matter what, we get the job done. Right now, that job is to stop these freaks gallivanting around, acting like they're tough shit!"

"Vector, it's too late to get back and try to do anything..."

"When has that ever stopped us? We just lost a friend...a brother. We're not going to disrespect his death like that. We're going to hand those freaks what they've got coming!"

"Oh really?" Replied a third, nasally voice.

The Chaotix realized who it belonged to and spun around to face their foe. Sure enough, standing a couple yards away, Hurricane stood with a defiant smirk, his cloak flapping violently in the prairie wind. The monkey quickly unclasped the cloak, allowing it to rip away from his shoulders and disperse into a burst of fire.

"You guys look as depressing as ever, hehehe," he exclaimed playfully, but his expression spoke of only anger. "That ninja dude sounds like a little girl! This'll be easier than I thought!"

"Why are you here, you dirty primate?!" Vector scowled as he balled his fists.

"Oh, well, Galaxy is sayin' that if we don't kill ya' guys we won't be allowed back with him to our leader. He'll say we all died 'er somethin'." Hurricane replied casually, walking towards the duo. "I _really _don't wanna be the only one left out!"

The sound of his words had just barely rolled off his tongue, when suddenly Hurricane lunged towards Vector, his hands spread open and ready to try and strangle the crocodile. The detective grunted as the Dusk agent pounced on him, a fist colliding with his throat on the way down to the ground. Vector choked and coughed as Hurricane rolled to his feet, only to jump and spin around in the air. A blur flung around towards Espio, who just barely managed to block the ferocious roundhouse kick.

With a smirk, Hurricane back flipped away from the duo, creating a powerful whirlwind in his wake. Taking up a martial arts pose, Hurricane cackled and cracked his neck. "I can't wait to kick yer asses!"

Suddenly a vortex of wind erupted around Vector and Hurricane. The force of the whirlwind pressed against Espio, slowly pushing him away from the rivals within. "Espio, I'm okay! Just figure out a way to stop him! Look for a weakness!"

Driving his clenched fist into Vector's cheek, Hurricane snickered at the sight of his foe tumbling to the ground. "Joke's on you! I have no weaknesses!"

"You sure are cocky!" Vector retorted gruffly, wiping the blood from his mouth.

Madly scrambling back to his feet, Vector prepared himself to tackle the monkey in front of him. His legs tensed up, and in the next moment the large croc lunged through the air, ramming his skull against Hurricane's. The monkey yelped dangerously, his hand flinging up to caress the bruised and bleeding spot on his forehead. Wasting no time, Vector reeled his arm back, and in the next instant crashed his clenched fist into Hurricane's cheek. Blood spewed free from his mouth, creating a trail in the air as the monkey crashed to the ground. Immediately, the powerful detective crouched over and grabbed the monkey by the throat, his vengeful eyes leering deep into Hurricane.

"That all you got? I thought you said you have no weaknesses?" Vector remarked, his chest heaving in all the air he could manage in the vortex.

"I was just giving you a head start, heh," Hurricane quickly plunged his knee into the hero's gut, then rolled to the side.

The young monkey swiftly rolled to his feet, and in the blink of an eye delivered a bone shattering punch down into Vector's spine, sending him down into the ground. However before he could even process the sensation of the vegetation on his skin, his body was heaved away from the earth and thrown up into the air. Hurricane watched the crocodiles body twirl around in the sky, the cyclone surrounding them carrying the detective further upwards in the process. Hurricane then punched the air in Vector's direction, a bullet of condensed wind shot free from his fist, and in a split second collided with the croc's body. Blood oozed from the hit, but Hurricane continued his relentless assault. Four more bursts of air shot free from his fists, each pummelling Vector higher up into the vortex.

Suddenly, the wind surrounding the fighters died out, allowing Vector to fall to the ground in a bloody heap. The crocodile groaned and turned onto his back, trying to pull himself up. However, Espio quickly rushed into the battlefield, aiding his comrade up.

"After all I've been through, I'm not gonna let you two nimrods take away my salvation!" Hurricane barked, the vortex once again erupting around them. "I suffered at the hands of the military for far too long! I was treated and used like an experiment!"

_Flashback _

**Location: Ayalaham, Northern Mazuri**

Snow swished past the group of cloak clad men, their lone prisoner shivering and shaking between them. The narrow, winding path that hugged the side of the Avalon mountain range blanketed with a thick coating of white powder and ice. A young boy surveyed the looming trees above him, plotting a means of escape from his village elders. The long, grey beards extending from each of the elder's hoods seemed to wave with each gust of wind that attempted to sweep the group into the canyon that separated them from the forest they lived in. Taking small, gentle steps, the young boy let out an exasperated sigh, glaring at the two soldiers holding him in line.

He hoped for a distraction, or a miracle to free him from their grasps.

Finally they stopped walking, coming up to an entrance embedded into the rock walls of the mountain. Two golden lions sat on guard, their raised paws covered with snow. An elder rose his staff, tapping the centre of the stone door that blocked their passage. Light crawled across the exterior, inching over the intricate carvings like a snake in the grass. Then, a turquoise glow illuminated the group.

"The boy goes first," one of the men mentioned, standing beside the opening with a menacing look.

Grumbling, the young village boy stumbled forwards, a soldier thrusting him towards the elders. His feet slid through the fresh snow, and soon he stuttered into the shadowed and cold maw. The unrelenting scent of mold and musk attacked the boys nose, forcing him to bury it in the scarf wrapped around his neck in disgust. Curious eyes scanned the walls as he descended, taking note of the strange mosaic positioned down the tunnel.

"_Why is the wall covered with pictures of tree's...?" _The young boy wondered, annoyance swelling up in his chest.

Feeling an elder shove him forth with their staff, the young boy realized he had stopped absentmindedly. Staggering through the dark channel, the monkey then came to a stop along a flat stretch of stone beneath his feet, it two designed with a elegant picture of a tree. Shuffling his feet, the boy stared at the strange picture on the ground, realizing it was meant to depict a demon.

"Light the lamps," one man demanded, thrusting a flaming stick towards the monkey. "Hurry up. Don't waste time."

Grasping the torch gingerly, the prisoner dabbed the orange flame against metal semi-circles beside the door, igniting the wicks inside. Two small flames lapped the side of the door, illuminating it. A final picture came to life, this time of a brilliant tree being held up by a demonic beast. The young boy gulped, feeling his body being nudged towards the opening door.

A powerful gust of wind exploded from behind the blockade, pressing against the group like a train. Soon, though, the door had lifted into a crevice in the mountain, allowing a blinding light to engulf the tunnel.

The elders rushed past the young boy, and onto a beautiful glass walkway. Behind them, the soldiers pushed the monkey through after them, to which the door slammed shut, locking them in.

Rushing waters, the squawks of exotic birds and the overwhelming scents of long lost fruit overcame their senses. They stood on a small canopy, attached only to a staircase leading down to a circular formation of rock. All around them, water fell from incisions in the mountain, while branches of a titanic tree reached through the water and over the abyss they stood over.

Countless remarks of the beauty rang through the quiet, divine space. Slowly the group descended down to the garden, where a tree surrounded by a small pond lay. In front of it, a white, glass alter stood untouched for what the young boy had to assume to be a millennium. Upon closer inspection, the child noticed small amounts of golden fruit dotting the healthy green foliage of garden.

"What is this place?" he asked his captors. "Where are we?"

Finally filtering out onto the circular garden, the boy was shoved in front of the elders as they lined up behind him. "The Tree of Life, my boy. We stand in what theologists throughout time believe to be the cradle of life. Where everything started. Some say a man named Adam and his wife Eve ate from this tree and were outcast by the Christian God. Others say it's a piece of a wondrous city called Shambhala. However, what we know for sure, is that the water flowing in this place contains a special mineral that grants immortality."

"You guys are kiddin', right?" he retorted with a dubious scoff. "Shit like that don't exist!"

"On the contrary, my child. If what our research says proves to be correct..." one of the elders approached the monkey boy, gripping his wrists before sliding them into handcuffs. "With this water, we'll be able to sell our Intel to GUN. No longer will our small nation be vulnerable. The United Federations will pay handsomely for what we've just uncovered!"

"Why'd you need me then...?" He wondered, examining the sturdy, rectangular alter suspiciously.

"Because, Hurricane, you are the sacrifice necessary for the water to be effective. Lore revolving around this ancient chamber speaks of many things. But one of the keys to awakening it's secrets is the blood of a child. You see, it's based off of the order given to a man in the Christian Bible by the name of Abraham to kill his son Isaac."

"You're gonna kill me?!" Hurricane shouted, fear exploding into his words like a bomb. "What did I do to deserve this?! Why me?!"

The young boy pushed, shoved and struggled against the four elders surrounding him, but found it to be of no use. Suddenly, one of the soldiers stepped forward, the gleaming GUN insignia on his jacket catching the boys eye. Looming over the boy, the soldier set a muscular hand on Hurricane's shoulder, his eyes glaring down.

"Your village views you as a monster. The power you hold, they see it as demonic. Either face exile in your own home, and risk torture-"

"Torture?! From who!?" The boy screamed, beginning to cry as he fought the grips of the elders, only to fall helplessly to his knees.

"The government ruling your community want you dead. Now, would you rather benefit the pure that live amongst you, and sacrifice yourself for a noble cause...or die a filthy maggot in the belly of the prisons you'll be sent to?"

"I don't want to die!"

Turquoise light began to creep along the monkey's body, emanating from the strong hand of the military general. Soon, the boy found himself unable to move, and only able to cry for his tortured life.

"General Shrike," an elder commented quietly, unwrapped a knife from a golden cloth. "Do the honours."

With the help of the four men, Hurricane had been effortlessly laid across the alter, his arms tied against the golden rods extending down into the ground. Standing above the weeping child, the general sighed, pressing the knife against the child's abdomen.

"Why are you doing this to me?" he stammered, choking on tears and saliva. "Why..."

Blood oozed past the sharpened edge of the dagger, pooling around Shrike's hands as he plunged the weapon deep into the boys body. A gentle yelp echoed across the quiet walls of the forgotten garden, as crimson liquid trickled down the limp body, and onto the alter. One of the elders scurried past Shrike, taking the golden cloth to soak up the blood before it had the chance to clot in the wound. Then, without any regard to the dead child, the man crouched down to dip the bloodied material into the crystal clear pond, allowing the scarlet to cloud the untouched water.

However, nothing happened.

"Odd," the elder remarked, stroking his beard, his eyes fixated on the water. "There's no change. Unless the water absorbs the blood? Shall we inject him with it now?"

Standing back, Shrike watched intently, holding the dagger in his hand tightly. "You had better make this work, old man."

Using a syringe to suck up a small amount of the water, the old man trotted over to the lifeless boy. Quickly plunging the needle into the boys chest cavity, the elder injected the liquid, watching for any signs of change.

"Alexander, something is happening to the water!" one of the other men yelled, stabbing a finger towards the pond.

Bubbles began to form on the surface of the crystal clear pond, only to pop and expel a blood like substance into the oasis. Sludge dripped from the tree hanging above the body of water, it's fruit rotting and falling into the liquid as well. The chamber shook, the cascading falls suddenly ceasing, only to pour out blood from the walls. The putrid scent of rotten flesh filled the air, forcing everyone to hold back their vomit.

The same liquid oozed up through the ancient floor, it's sickly color starting to snake over the feet of the elders and GUN officials. Shrike quickly jumped away from the alter, narrowly escaping a hoard of vines which swooped the dead boy away into the air. Rock tumbled down from the opening in the mountain above, the soldiers aiding Shrike getting caught up in the chaos, only to be crushed. Growling, the GUN agent darted up the crumbling pathway, abandoning the village elders and his men as a vicious storm of vine and branches erupted through the garden, ripping everything apart with an effortless rage.

Crumpled remains of the garden descended with the tainted water into the pit that surround it. Shrike, however watched from the entrance clutching the syringe filled with the mystified water. A subtle growl left his mouth, and as the rest of the chamber crashed down on itself, Shrike disappeared through the stone door of which he had come.

_End Flashback _

"They left me to die there!" Hurricane howled between sobs, tears cascading down his face. "All my life, I've been nothing but a lab rat – a tool. But y'know what? I'm not lettin' anyone take advantage of me, anymore! Never again!"

"I don't believe that one bit," Espio remarked, his hands moving to form a string of mystic hand seals. Upon finishing, embers seemed to drip from his mouth, only to erupt outwards into a great ball of fire.

"You're being controlled by the guy leading your group! He's not going to give you guys shit! He's just trying to succeed in his own goals, don't you all realize that?" Vector barked as he blocked a powerful punch from the primate.

The grey monkey quickly exhaled a condensed bullet of air into the ground, shooting him into the sky in order to dodge Espio's attack with little difficulty. However, the skilled ninja retaliated by sending a barrage of shuriken hurtling towards the Dusk agent. The stars of metal sailed through the air, some striking the dirt, while a few plunged deep into Hurricane's flesh.

Hurricane tumbled from the air and into the ground, where he remain on his knees, blood dripping from the multiple wounds strewn over his body. "You turds don't know shit about what suffering is.."

Rows of ancient text crept across the man's face, while also tainting his eyes to black. The marks shone brightly as the monkey darted towards the Chaotix, his fists ready to strike. Hurricane threw one fist straight at Vector, whom quickly ducked to the left. However as he did so a burst of air erupted against his body, sending him bouncing and tumbling across the ground. Jumping past his ally, Espio bounded into the air above Hurricane, forming the same seals to fire off another ball of flame.

"Nice try," Hurricane sneered.

The grey primate inhaled quickly, and in the blink of an eye a great windstorm struck the flaming comet coming from Espio. Each opposing force struck, and as they did a shockwave rippled the waves of wheat and grass the trio fought within. Embers scattered across the field, burning up chunks of the plains and igniting everything on fire.

"Vector, are you okay?" Espio called out as he landed beside his pal, whom groaned in reply. "We have to figure out a way to distract him. He's too quick for us to fight him head to head. We gotta trap him so he can't move around."

"Any suggestions? Coz' I'm fresh out of ideas, Espio," Vector replied with a sigh and swept the grime from his forehead. "We can't keep running around without a plan, or we're gonna wind up six feet under!"

Another wave of pressurized air swept across the plain, ripping the vegetation it encountered to shreds. Espio and Vector quickly rolled out of the way, unaware of Hurricane who had been in hot pursuit. A firm punch met Espio's cheek, and the chameleon tumbled away, smashing into and destroying the only tree in the area. Eager to land a hit for his comrade, Vector hurtled his fist into Hurricane's cheek.

Blood and saliva splashed to the ground, followed quickly by Hurricane. Vector quickly lunged downwards to grab the monkey, and hurled him into the sky. The crocodile heaved in a deep breath, his chest puffing out to an outrageous size, then came a massive, churning explosion. The ball of flame, smoke and energy swallowed the primate, cloaking him with a mushroom cloud of debris.

"Think I got him, Espio?" The Chaotix leader asked with a deep sigh, and helped his comrade up to his feet. "I didn't see him fall to the ground..."

A dazzling blue glow then lit up the battlefield. It engulfed the burning flames, snuffing them out and finally it expanded around the Chaotix, forcing them to cover their eyes due to the brightness. Within, Hurricane laughed, the earth now trembling at his foot steps. His eyes shone a deep golden color, though, they were still colored black. Vector swallowed the lump in his throat, feeling strangely terrified by this new Hurricane.

"You can't kill me, idiots," he snorted, watching as his arm pieced itself back together from the charred stub it had been from the last attack. "When that disgusting GUN officer took me up to that garden, I found something."

The air fell silent, and the light receded back into the grey monkey, causing his body to lurch and twitch.

"I found the key to immortality, y'know. I can't die, and whenever my body is injured, it'll just repair itself! I'm invincible, you see!"

Three sweeping blades of turquoise light shot through the field, decapitating the monkey in the blink of an eye. Espio and Vector stared in disbelief, neither of them sure of what to do, or say.

Hearing a set of foot steps behind them, the Chaotix spun around to meet the one who had killed Hurricane. "The Chaotix, correct?"

"That's us...who're you?" Vector questioned curiously.

"GUN Supreme Commander, Shrike Errgon. It seems you've found my little science experiment from a couple years ago. Or was he collaborating with the group of terrorists that have been running around?" The muscular buck loomed over top of the blank eyed head of Hurricane. "It seems to me he thinks I'm an idiot..."

Shrike grasped the blood soaked head, and heaved it up so he could look it in the eyes. "I never thought I'd see your ugly face again." Hurricane scowled, his body beginning to piece back together.

"I didn't think you'd have survived after that cave collapsed. So I see my hunch was right, that water did contain the secret of immortality. It's about time I've come to sow the fruits of my labour!" Shrike howled with a ballistic look in his eyes.

"Wait, how do you two know each other?" Vector called out, unsure of who was on whose side.

"This brat was chosen as a test subject for a special project led by me about ten years ago. I was certain that Doctor Gerald Robotnik had more than just the blood of the Black Arms to help him out, and it didn't take me long to hunt down that extra variable nestled away deep in the mountains of Mazuri. There, I found a spring that offered the gift of life. It required a sacrifice, according to legend, but after we killed this boy everything crumbled apart. I never got to retrieve a sample of the water..."

Hurricane pried himself away from Shrike, and jumped a good distance away, a vicious look in his eye. "Since I failed to collect the water, I need the next best thing...the blood running through your veins, kid!"

"I don't have the time or patience to deal with you, ya' military hound!" Hurricane snapped, and pointed to the Chaotix. "Right now, they're my main concern!"

Glancing at the heroes, Shrike smirked and readied an attack in his hand. "You two don't plan on helping that man, do you?"

The Chaotix paused, and looked at one another.

"What do we do?" Espio wondered.

"The way I see it...both of them need to be taken care of...I feel like if we don't try and stop Shrike, something bad may come from it. Listen, I'll distract Shrike, and you finish off the primate." Vector concluded quietly, and then the duo jumped towards their respective targets.

"Poor decision, Chaotix," Shrike snarled, swinging his arm downwards. A beam of light extended from his fist, forming a large mallet in the air above Espio.

The young ninja quickly slid to the ground, narrowly avoiding the hammer as it crashed into the earth. The ground shook violently, as slabs of rock and dirt shot upwards behind Espio. Two battle knives shot through the air, each connected to an ignited explosive. Each knife pierced the soil on either side of Shrike, then exploded into a flurry of smoke and flame.

Shrike jumped back through the debris, just in time to meet Espio's heel kicking down at him. The GUN Commander grabbed the hero's ankle, and then slammed his palm into Espio's gut, blasting him away and crashing into a cluster of rock nearby.

Meanwhile, Vector and Hurricane had engaged in a fierce display of hand to hand combat. Fists had become blurs, and with each impact Vector felt on his body, he could feel the additional force from his competitors affinity with the wind. Gusts of air bolted against Vector each time Hurricane attacked, as if he were the wind itself.

The monkey then ducked to the ground, and spun on his upper back. His legs kicked out in each direction, and as he spun, his heels cracked against Vectors neck and jaw, knocking him down. Hurricane quickly rolled back to his feet, and then jumped to deliver an air-charged fist to Vector's face. He was more than ready to crush the crocodile's skull.

Suddenly, Vector released a storm of black ash from his mouth, and then clamped his teeth together to ignite it into a devilish ball of flame. Hurricane screamed within it, his flesh beginning to melt from the intensity of the attack. The monkey stumbled out of the smoke, and dropped to his knees, clumps of flesh and hair falling into the grass. The stench of burning flesh filled the once sweet air, while Hurricane's unholy screams of agony bellowed across the plains.

Vector cringed at the horrific sight before him. Hurricane screamed more, clawing at his skin as it bubbled and blistered.

"What have you done to me?! What is this?! Aghh!" His screams echoed across the quiet plain, until finally Shrike began laughing.

The GUN Commander dropped a battered Espio to the ground, and kicked him to the side. Slowly the military officer walked up to the man writhing in pain on the ground, and plucked Hurricane up. Holding the monkey up by his throat, Shrike stared deep into the primates eyes and smirked.

"It's about time I take back what's rightfully mine," he whispered maliciously. "Any last words?"

"Fuck...you!" Hurricane replied, seething in pain between his words.

Shrike raised his free hand, a blade of energy forming around his fist. Then, in a flash of light, and a splash of blood, Shrike plunged the blade through Hurricane's throat. The murderous GUN Commander then pulled his hand free, watching as the blood dripped to the ground. Hurricane's body slumped to the ground lifelessly, his eyes becoming a hollow grey color.

Pulling a syringe from his belt, Vector could do nothing but watch in awe as the cold-hearted buck plunged the syringe into the wound he had inflicted on Hurricane, and collected the primates blood.

Vector stared in disbelief at the bloody mess Hurricane had become, and then moved his gaze to the grinning buck standing above his victim. The GUN Commander slowly turned towards the crocodile, and smirked deviously.

"I've already shed enough blood here. So, I'll spare you. But don't think you'll be safe for long from the changes I'm going to be making, Vector. Let that delusional monkey boy be an example of my fury. Let him be an example to not get in my way."

**To be Continued**

**Authors Note ~ **Took forever to get this up. Not sure if anyone's still reading, but if you are, enjoy.


	47. Chapter 47: Bonds

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 47: Bonds**

"_Love looks through a telescope; envy, through a microscope"_

**Location: Ancient Oasis, Adabat**

A flock of exotic birds fled their home, fleeing a destructive wave of magma on it's path through the jungle. Animals and all forms of vegetation slowly disappeared under the blanket of lava cascading down the mountain. The titan looming high above let out another hellish scream that shook the planet, causing the mountains themselves to tremble and crumble apart.

Suddenly, Mighty fell from a vortex and into a swamp. Murky water and mud leapt up into the air and splattered across the armadillo. Clumps of dirt dropped off of Mighty as he stood up, annoyed by the entrance he had been given.

"Gee, I guess he's never heard of a smooth landing..." Mighty remarked quietly, shaking more mud from his hands and into the swamp water. "Now where am I...?"

Trudging out of the swamp, Mighty ventured over to the steaming magma that had solidified over half the jungle. However, the armadillo quickly spun around upon hearing the voice of a girl sigh.

Behind him stood Crush, waiting patiently on the shore of a lake hidden in the jungle. The magma seeped towards the body of water, creating a thick veil of steam from the liquid coming into contact with such a hot substance.

"Today only one of us will be leaving here alive, Mighty." Crush explained solemnly, catching droplets of water from the overhanging trees in her hands. "I never thought the day would come where I had to choose between my life or yours...nor did I think I'd choose mine to save... above yours."

Mighty remained quiet, tears dripping past his closed eyes. He curled his fists up tightly, causing his knuckles to crack one by one.

"If that's the way it has to be, then so be it. But, I can't kill you, Crush. If you die, I die too. Either you kill me, or I kill us both."

"I won't be dying today, Mighty. I have too much riding on my victory – my freedom and mercy all depend on the outcome. I'm sorry, but your days have come to an end."

"Then call me a dead man!"

Mighty dashed towards his old friend, green and white energy gathering around his being like a barrier. The armadillo heaved an arm behind him, then slung it forward like a bolt of lightning. His fist struck the rock Crush had been perched on, obliterating it into a mound of dust.

Crush twirled down from the sky, landing elegantly on the surface of the lake. Suddenly two waves crashed into the shore, swallowing the dry ground up. Mighty, on the other hand jumped high into the air, preparing another punch. The armadillo soared down from the sky, and thrust Crush into the water with his fist. The duo spun and clawed at each other as they descended into the depths of the lake, until finally Crush managed to kick the armadillo away.

Mighty gurgled, bubbles exploding from his mouth, the air in his lungs escaping. The armadillo frantically clawed for the surface, darkness slowly creeping in on his vision. Suddenly, Crush delivered a devastating punch into Mighty's abdomen, sending him flying up from the abyss, and into the sky. Crush launched up into the air after her former partner, a dragon of water screaming past her. The dragon screeched and collided with Mighty in an explosion of mist and water vapour.

His body twirled and tumbled through the sky, falling down into the small isle that rest in the middle of the lake. The fragile vegetation growing on the islet reached towards Mighty, as the energy collecting around his body seemed to cause nature to flourish at a rapid pace.

Water jumped away from the boots landing in a murky puddle, urging Crush to move forward. Her eyes locked onto Mighty, a murderous scowl finding its way onto her lips.

"Why are you doing this, Crush?" The traveller hollered amidst the sounds of the jungle burning to the ground. "This isn't the person I once knew!"

"I'm not the same person, Mighty. My eyes have been opened. I'm no longer ignorant to our world, but rather I'm enlightened. Can't you see it, Mighty? This world is riddled with evil. I don't want to live in a world of darkness anymore. I want more. I believe there's a chance for me to see a planet where no one suffers, and I also believe that if _we _succeed, my dream will come true. Dying in such a horrid place...isn't an option for me."

"It looks to me that they're causing more harm than good," Mighty retorted quietly. "Crush..we don't have to fight one another. I've offered to help you escape them, why don't you just accept my help?"

"Why?" Crush responded harshly, her words acidic and malicious. "The last time I relied on you for help...I ended up becoming a science experiment by not only GUN, but that fat, old creep Doctor Robotnik! Mighty, you can no longer _help _me. You've proven to me that you aren't capable of saving anyone – you've let me down, and you've allowed Ray to die."

Pain lurched at the armadillo like electricity flowing through his veins. His heart broke at the memory of his best friend dying in his arms five years ago, and tears begun to leak past his eyes once again. But, the traveller quickly swept his glove past his face, stifling the sobs the best he could.

"It seems...there's no way around it," Mighty commented flatly. "If your wish is to see a world where no one suffers, then I have to stop you here. Because if the people you're working with succeed...there won't be a future to see, Crush."

"You sound confident," she retorted with grunt. "But I've already decided the outcome of this battle...!"

In the blink of an eye, the girl appeared in front of Mighty, her hands balled into tight fists. One punch met the armadillo's throat, followed by a second fist meeting his face. Mighty stumbled backwards from the assault, the ferocity of the attacks picking up as Crush continued her onslaught. A final fist shot towards the hero, only to be caught in his palm. Mighty quickly reeled his old friend around, heaving her into the air.

A loud_ crack _pierced the jungle, followed by four collapsing trees. Mighty jumped towards the destruction, his fist reeled back behind his head. A vivid green energy cloaked itself around his glove.

Then, she came into view.

Blood leaked past her mouth as she struggled to stand despite her countless injuries. Magma crawled through the clearing Crush had landed in, snaking it's way towards her. The young fox snarled and jumped backwards once her eyes met his, avoiding the super powered fist her former ally delivered. Slabs of rock and clay lurched up from beneath the magma, sending waves of it all across the jungle. Smoke rose up through the clearing, from the trees that had now been set ablaze. Slowly, a thick smokescreen began to cloak the jungle.

Mighty quickly pulled his fist from the ground and continued his pursuit, tremors of energy racing up his bicep. The armadillo slung his fist towards Crush once more, only for her to dodge the attack and send three spears of ice through Mighty.

Scarlet splashed across her face and along the transparent weapons. Mighty winced in pain, but despite his injuries he conjured the strength to punch through his opponents creations. Shards of ice fell to the ground, breaking into even smaller pieces beneath Mighty. The armadillo then quickly lunged forwards, headbutting the Dusk agent in front of him.

"Take this!"

"Ack!" Crush yelped, blood dripping down past her brow.

Mighty plunged his fist into the ground, creating a powerful quake. Then, the earth split open, and from it a geyser erupted beneath Crush, carrying her into the sky within a jet of super-heated water. Acting quickly, the armadillo heaved a slab of rock over the spout, and jumped on top. The pressure built up within the blink of an eye and launched Mighty after Crush.

Leaves and branches whizzed past him, and then he found himself free falling above the jungle. But, Crush was nowhere to be found.

"Where did she go...?"

He gulped, questioning what to do next. But, he found his answer just as quickly.

"Surprise!" Crush screamed.

A powerful burst of heated water erupted from Crush's hand, knocking him back down through the jungle. A massive splash of lake water launched up past the trees, and Crush soared down after her prey. Her cloak ripped free of her shoulders just as she shot through the surface of the lake, causing it to churn into a whirl pool. The vortex opened up around the girl, her hand gripped tightly around Mighty's throat.

Water swirled chaotically around her, threatening to suck them both in the vortex. With little effort, she heaved the armadillo upwards, ready to deal the final blow.

"I trusted you at one point in time, Mighty," she explained solemnly. "But, I now see that I can't rely on you. How could you just give up? How could you let them take Ray and I? We both suffered...I saw what Doctor Robotnik did to him...what he did to _me_! If only you could've witnessed the horror he put us through, Mighty. Then you would understand. You'd understand the cold truth of humanity. Robotnik demonstrated that everyone is greedy for power..."

"Crush...I...you don't get it." Mighty choked against her grip. "I tried so hard to get you two back."

"Shut up!"

The whirlpool suddenly expanded, creating a battlefield on the floor of the lake. Suddenly, Crush threw the armadillo across the ground, then swung her arms inwards, pulling thousands of water bullets from the vortex surrounding them. The liquid projectiles cut and dove through Mighty's body, until finally the assault came to a stop.

Crush peered into his eyes, noting his fear. Her own had been filled with pain from the terror she had endured. With anger, and vengeance. With envy.

"That man...he stripped me of everything I once believed in. I once had hope...in you – and in the people of Earth. But his experiments, they changed me. They made me empty, and made me crazy what I had lost. I was continuously nudged to the brink of death, only to be yanked back. Never was I given the freedom of escaping him. I wasn't the only one..."

"You...you were the one I saw in that capsule..." Mighty realized with horror. "Crush...I'm so sorry I didn't save you like I should've..."

"He tore the world apart for others like me - others who had that special _gift _within them. He told us we'd be useful to his cause. But in the end...he stole those gifts from us, and used them for his own gain. Not that it matters now that he's dead. Mighty, he stole a piece of me. I want that piece back. We all do. Robotnik stripped us of a piece of our soul, promising we'd have it returned once _he _was defeated."

The whirlpool begun to waver, water crashing into the dry section Crush had created. "Now five years later...that fat scientist is six feet under, yet, we're still incomplete. Hollow."

Fear had began to rise up in Mighty's chest, beginning to clue into the secret behind Crush's eyes.

"I'm so _envious _that you've been able to live freely...to laugh...while I've been doomed to a fate worse than death. You were free, while I had to suffer...I hate you for that."

"You used to be so kind, Crush..." Mighty whispered, his hand glowing with an intense light once more. "I'm starting to realize you're no longer the person you once were. You simply only look familiar...but, I can't mistaken that putrid energy you're filled with for the love and kindness you used to show."

The girls eyes suddenly grew wide in shock. Blood leaked down her chest, pooling at her feet and around Mighty's knees. The armadillo wrenched his arm free of her body, letting her topple backwards. The whirlpool wavered gently, then more violently as it began to close in on them.

Mighty stared at the girl blankly, watching the blood pool around her body. "You aren't the girl I knew back then. Not even remotely close. I wouldn't even doubt that you're another person entirely."

She began laughing, and slowly stumbled up off the ground to face Mighty. Her eyes seemed void of compassion, as though the concept had been stolen from her body. She lacked something, he now knew that.

A soul.

"What did he do to you, Crush...?"

_Flashback_

Machinery glistened from the energy radiating off of the five orbs that had been collected. They gleamed against the walls, their light gleaming from the glass alters they stood on.

From behind the confines of her small cell, Crush watched as a large bear had been dragged into the laboratory. He screamed, pleaded and cried against the restraints of the Egg Pawns, but to no avail. Large hands swatted at the mechs, only to meet an electrical field. He screamed from the thousands of volts racing through his body, while Crush shuddered in fear, praying she didn't have to go through the same pain.

The pawns then hung the bear by his wrists, clamping them shut within a pair of Chaos Energy hand cuffs. His body hung lip from the restraints, his eyes dull and glazed over. Drool seemed to drip past his teeth and leak to the floor.

Blast doors separating the prisoners from the outside swished open, allowing Doctor Eggman to stroll in. The large scientist tossed a handful of blueprints onto a desk, and sauntered over to Gaia, staring at the bear intently.

"You don't seem to be very special to me," he whispered whilst plucking at his moustache. "But, alas, I was proven wrong by the last five. Let's see what secrets your body has stored away. A shame...if you had just settled for the supplies you were given, and not gone off to loot with your monkey pal, things might've been different. Perhaps you would've been killed, rather than been captured by the likes of my mechs. Oh, well..."

The Doctor took a step back, watching from behind his goggles as a mechanical arm drooped down from the ceiling, armed with an energy scalpel. Crush could feel her stomach lurch, and it took everything in her not to vomit.

Blood leaked down the fine, green fur of the bear while the scalpel dug past his chest and ribs. Bone and muscle were sawed away in order to access his chest cavity. Chunks of flesh, organs and bits of bone fell to the ground from the machines carving process, creating a bloody mess on the floor. Finally, his entire chest cavity had been revealed after multiple ribs had been broken apart. Each lung inflated, and deflated with each strained breath the unconscious bear took. However, a small light shone pass the darkness of within his body.

The scalpel morphed into a mechanical hand sporting three finger-like appendages. The machine eased its way into the body and grasped hold of something, then retreated. The light became much more intense, and more so as the surgical assistant of the Doctor's emerged with a glowing orb.

"Curious..." Robotnik muttered, ordering for light to be shone into the chest cavity of Gaia. "Like the rest, you lack a functional heart. The documents left by my grandfather explained that these orbs acted as souls, but I wouldn't have imagined them to be physical objects or to act as organs."

Crush gazed at the orb being held, entranced with its mystical radiance. Doctor Robotnik then signalled for the artifact to be placed into an alter of it's own, along with the others of its kind. A monitor slid out from the ceiling, and Eggman scrolled through a series of notes. As he began typing additional data in, Gaia's body dropped down into a dark hole beneath him. Crush knew this is where the captives were sent to have their surgical wounds repaired, and then put into hyperbolic sleep. Something she hoped to never experience.

She gulped, a cold realization suddenly dawning on her.

"Colouration...Green, gold and black...according to Doctor Gerald Robotnik's notes, this key represents the balance between gluttony and temperance." A synthetic voice noted to the Doctor.

"Interesting, so these orbs represent the Seven Deadly Sins..."

"Eve, ready the sixth vessel for extraction. Let's see which virtue that girl holds inside her!" Robotnik howled, his laughter lingering throughout the corridors.

_End Flashback_

"You wouldn't even want to know, Mighty..." Crush responded devilishly.

Tendrils of water erupted from the ground, aimed to rip the armadillo's body to pieces. However, he quickly cartwheeled away, and jumped up to avoid a crashing torrent of liquid that descended from the sky. Crush screamed with rage, her arms swiftly swinging around to manipulate the conjurations of water. Another liquid-dragon roared from the walls of the whirlpool and lunged straight towards Mighty.

Quickly crashing his fist into the earth, a slab of rock jutted upward to block the monstrosity. Ribbons of water swivelled past the shield, while Mighty jumped up and prepared another punch, this time allowing his energy to create a larger fist extending from his arm. Mighty swung the pummelling force downwards, knocking Crush across the battlefield and into the whirlpool.

As soon as she had been swept away by the intense vortex, it collapsed, returning the lake to it's former state. Mighty desperately jumped past falling trees, using them as leverage to escape.

The young traveller bounded off of his final foothold a split second before it had been washed away by the mass of water. Mighty tumbled against the shore, and scrambled to his feet, watching for any signs of Crush.

Glancing around, Mighty noticed the leaves around him had begun browning, and dropping to the ground. The air suddenly cooled, so much so that it caused the lake to instantly freeze over. The trees turned to ice, along with the lava eating away at the jungle. Everything eventually froze over, turning the jungle into a frozen prison.

Spires of ice shot upwards all over, peppering the frozen wasteland with dangerous traps of ice. Mighty grunted, and jumped back to avoid a massive pillar of water jut out of the chilled battlefield. However as the water emerged into the air, it froze instantly, turning into a tower of crystal.

Perched on top, the Dusk agent stood with a terrifying gaze. "It's time to end this, Mighty. No more games."

"I see now that you're no longer the person I knew. You've become a monster..."

His tears fell one by one, solidifying as they descended to the ground.

"I'm not going to let you suffer anymore...Crush..."

Stoic and confident, Crush jumped from her roost. Spears of ice lurched free from the ground, threatening to impale Mighty from all angles. However, he smashed his way through, using an icicle as a bat, creating a storm of ice particles. Mighty shot his attention upwards, a sword of ice materializing around Crush's arm. Mighty slid to a stop and hurled the javelin of ice towards Crush with such force it broke the sound barrier. The air vibrated from the sonic boom it created, when suddenly it launched through the girls body.

Blood rained across the frozen battlefield from the javelin impaled in her gut. Yet, still she descended at full force.

Mighty grimaced and swung his fist to meet the tip of the blade, hoping to smash it.

More blood spilled, his hand becoming severed and falling to the frozen battlefield as it too become a chunk of ice. Mighty howled in pain, but quickly pulled on Crush's wrist to reel her in close. With a final punch, Mighty plunged his fist through her gut, ripping through to the other side.

But at the same time, a prison of dagger-like icicles erupted from the ground, piercing through Mighty's back. They plunged through his body, and into her own. Each of their blood leaked onto the spears, and dripped to the ground.

Together they grumbled in pain, memories of their times together flooding their heads.

Together, they smiled once more, forgetting all the strife that had torn them apart.

**To Be Continued**

**Authors Note~ **Gory battle, yeah? Hope whatever is left of you reading enjoyed!


	48. Chapter 48: Fear

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 48: Fear**

"_It is said that wrath is the last thing in a man to grow old."_

**Location: Emerald Desert**

Sand and dust jumped upwards into the scorching hot air like pillars. The blue hero tumbled and jerked through the sand, until finally he stumbled to a stop against a lonely palm tree. Groaning heavily, Sonic rubbed his head, and then glared up into the sun beaming down from the blue sky.

Not too far off in the distance, he could see the beast he had fought five years ago slowly escaping its prison.

"This place doesn't feel very apocalyptic..." Sonic mumbled to himself, wiping the beads of sweat collecting at his brow. "Only thing terrifying about this place is the heat! For Chaos' sake! There has to be _some _water out here! Or a chilidog atleast!"

His voice echoed across the expansive wasteland, then once again everything became silent. A gust of wind swished the sand around at Sonic's feet as he begun walking, trying to find a way back to his friends.

"Exactly what I need in a situation like this...to get lost," he moaned, unsure of where he was.

A cloud of dust followed close in the blue blurs wake as he sprinted through the barren terrain, following him ever so closely. Suddenly the hero launched forward even faster, aimed towards a stronghold in the distance.

In the blink of an eye, Sonic had blazed his way towards the abandoned GUN HQ that Eggman had destroyed long ago. Scrap parts from old Egg Pawns lay idle across the gigantic complex, remaining unscathed by the test of time. The blue hero glanced around after skidding to a stop in the courtyard, where he found skeletal remains of soldiers and prisoners strewn about.

"Jeez, there must'a been something important here for ol' Egghead to cause this amount of damage," the blue hero remarked, walking around the base. "But I wonder why I was sent here? There has to be a reason."

"Destiny has a funny way of setting things up," an aloof voice called out. "Wouldn't you say, hedgehog?"

Sonic spun around ferociously, his eyes locking onto the figure atop the look-out tower. A white cloak wavered against the howling desert wind, a savage sandstorm making it's way across the expansive wasteland and towards the stronghold.

"I should've known I'd find one of you scumbags here!" Sonic howled, his fists balling up in anger.

"Indeed you should have, boy blue," Gantz retorted, and jumped to the ground, his cloak disappearing with his descent. "You've really ignited some interest in our group, y'know. There's no chance in hell _he'd _let the opportunity go, to gather data on you!"

"Why exactly would Galaxy need to collect anything from me, when he could just face me and let me kick his ass!"

"Oh, how adorable," the man retorted with a snicker. "I thought you would have learnt by now that our leader isn't Galaxy. That foolish man has gone batshit insane! Rather, you've caught the attention of a God, my friend. Now, don't you feel special?"

A wide, toothy grin spread across Gantz's lips at the pissed off expression on Sonic. "The way I see it, you all have a screw or two loose!"

In a flash of light, Sonic rocketed across the courtyard, his fist charged with ribbons of blue energy. A dome of cerulean erupted around the mortal enemies, ripping the wall of the complex apart with ease. From the debris, the blue hero came shooting through, rolling along the sand dunes.

Sonic huffed, holding his wrist as his glove fell apart and dropped into the sand in scorched pieces. Wiping more sweat from his forehead, the blue hero once again dashed towards the Dusk agent.

"Is the heat getting to you already?"

Sand shot upwards as Gantz vaulted away from Sonic, pillars of flame lurching high into the sky behind him. Quickly side stepping, Sonic rolled away from the blazing spires and once more dashed towards his opponent, desperate to put an end to the fight as soon as possible.

Another column of flame swallowed Sonic, tossing him into the sky, allowing Gantz to deliver a crushing kick to his gut. Embers glistened upwards from the blow, and the blue blur shot down into the ground. The agent reeled his fist back, a veil of flame engulfing him like a phoenix as he shot down towards Sonic as though he were a flaming meteor.

Sonic, on the other hand, bounded away from the ground in the knick of time, avoiding the fiery collision. Sand jumped up into the sky, solidifying into glass near instantaneously from the intense heat radiating away from the Dusk soldier.

"You're a lot quicker than the last time we met, boy," Gantz commented flatly, but quickly begun to laugh. "I guess I'll just have to quit with the warm ups and get straight to the main event, eh?"

An aura of flame suddenly jumped around the soldier, super heating the sandy ground into glass. The blue hero grimaced from the overbearing heat pulsing off the man before him, but still he darted across the courtyard once more. A ball of cerulean wind screamed to life in the hero's palm, which he then heaved into Gantz's chest. The tanuki bounced and tumbled back across the sandy battlefield and exploded through a building to the north. Sonic revved his legs and shot through the obliterated wall after his prey, narrowly escaping the chaotic sandstorm tearing at the bases walls.

"Heh," Gantz chuckled darkly, staggering to his feet, the flames cloaking his body incinerating the bones near him. "You see, I'm not here to kill you, hedgehog. I'm here to _test _you. Metal Sonic sent back something very, _very _interesting when you killed him...footage of a being remarkably similar to you. But, I wondered, _how could that be_? You've never displayed killer instinct like the beast we saw. So, I concluded that there was something inside of you...something waiting to be unleashed. The others, well, they urged me to just let the curiosity go. But, I couldn't. C'mon, boy, show me what you have hidden up your sleeve! _Entertain me!_"

A chill ran up Sonic's spine. "What the hell are you?"

"Your worst nightmare."

Bursting flame suddenly erupted through the halls of the base, the pit of hell seeming to open up beneath them. The headquarters shook and trembled, and with a final, twisted laugh, the flames Gantz controlled ruptured the floor, eating away at everything within. Sonic yelped and jumped away from a wall of flame, avoiding the tanuki's fist as it shot through the heat. However, another column of fire shot at Sonic from behind, threatening to eat him alive. The blue blur slammed his eyes shut, and curled into his ball form, shooting straight through like a bullet.

Sparks glistened up into the ceiling, and Sonic rolled onto the floor in a pool of blood. Beads of sweat dripped off his face to the ground, turning into steam. Slowly he urged himself back to his feet, despite his shaking legs. But Gantz had already closed the distance, and grasped the hedgehogs throat.

"C'mon, I know you have more spunk than this!" He shouted, his eyes alit with fury.

Sonic craned his head back, and with a deep breath smacked his face into the Dusk soldier, earning him a blood curdling scream of pain. Stumbling back to his feet, Sonic collected a mass of wind in his palm and swung his arm into Gantz's chest. A cyclone of blue energy swallowed the soldier, carrying him across the corridor and into the cell block ahead.

He could hear the man scream as he descended into the depths of the structure, and then he heard nothing. "That can't be the end..."

And sure enough...

It wasn't.

The building shook, its frail walls beginning to glow white with heat. Sonic gulped, dashing towards the exit, but wound up too slow for one of the few times in his life. With a mighty detonation, the prison complex had been swallowed up by a wave of fire, then shot up into a cloud of energy, ripping the GUN stronghold apart.

A mushroom cloud reached high into the sky, stemming from where the base once occupied. The sandstorm had been neutralized, and then, as the heat died out Sonic smacked into the crater the ball of flame had created. His body had been scorched, patches of his fur having been singed off. Steam rolled off of Sonic, his last glove now only a tattered cuff around his wrist. His shoes had been torn in numerous places by the heat just the same. His body smoked, carrying the scent of burnt flesh into the sky, but yet, he still drew in a breath.

Sonic heaved in air, lung full after lung full. Slowly he opened his eyes, wincing as he did so, finding that the ground had been gouged apart, allowing sand to cascade into the crater. Spires of glass that were once clouds of dust twisted up to the sky, when suddenly they all shattered in unison. Another wave of fire scorched the ground, but this time it didn't disappear, it moved towards Sonic as if it were alive.

"What...in the name of -" Sonic mumbled quietly, sliding onto his backside to scoot himself away. _Where did he go...?_

"You sure are resilient, boy," the rapidly approaching column of flame bellowed madly, which Sonic quickly realized to be Gantz. "Now I know without a shadow of doubt there's something inside that body of yours. Go on, let it out and play...I'm eager for some _fun!_"

"Fat chance, meat-head," Sonic snapped, wiping the blood from his chin. "Is that all you can -"

Each fighter turned their attention up into the sky, where they found a blue bi-plane flying through the clouds. A wave of relief washed over Sonic, realizing his brother was still safe. The blue hero quickly, but painfully, jumped up to the edge of the crater, earning a disgusted scowl from Gantz. Upon landing on the ground, he tumbled to the sand in pain, though he continued waving his arms madly to gain his allies attention.

"I guess he can't see us," Gantz called out with a rotten grin, his face illuminated by a ball of fire in his hand. "What... a... shame."

Sonic's eyes grew wide with cold realization, watching the comet of flame hurtle through the sky towards the Tornado. The blue blur screamed frantically into the air, tears brimming at the corners of his eyes.

"**TAILS!**"

A ball of smoke and fire hung in the sky, as the desert became peppered with shrapnel from Tornado. The flaming wing piece of the biplane struck the sand beside Sonic, but he didn't so much as budge. Then, he began to sob, and collapsed to his knees, his hands punching and grasping the sand in agony. Sonic hunched over, crying out to heavens for his younger brother.

"No..No...no...no.. ...why...? NO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!"

"Heh, I never expected you to be so weak, hedgehog," Gantz said with a wicked smirk. "Has the piss and vinegar finally drained out of you? Is this all you can muster? What a let down..."

Putrid, black energy begun smoking away from the weeping hedgehog, the sand around him starting to spin. The air around his body seemed to intensify and kink his quills upwards, giving him a much more feral and terrifying appearance. His tears leaked to the sand, evaporating once they hit the ground. He heaved for air, while his heart beat began to pick up at a rapid pace. The ground then gave in, collapsing under the pressure of the hedgehog's new found power.

"Still, nothing compared to the man you remind me of..." The Dusk agent grinned, watching as Sonic vanished from thin air.

However, this hadn't been unexpected. The Dusk soldier was fully aware of the transformation the hedgehog was succumbing to, and he was ready for whatever came his way.

"Though, you certainly could pass as his child!" Gantz barked, trying to shake the nostalgic feeling from his head.

A flash of light swirled into existence at the centre of the crater, pushing away wave after wave of sand. To ensure his safety, Gantz jumped out of the wound on the earth, and watched from above as the hedgehog began changing. A long, serpentine tail of black energy smacked to the ground, followed by a hellish roar. The light disbanded in a vortex of power, revealing the new creature to the Dusk soldier.

Sonic's face was now covered by a black, skull-like helmet. Two white and red horns arched out from his temples, while spines jutted down his back. Once more Sonic roared, his voice distorted and evil. Another shockwave shot away from the hedgehog, and finally two violet orbs were set ablaze behind the helmet, followed by a black flame that engulfed his hands.

"That's what I wanted to see," Gantz murmured with glee.

In a blur, the blue hero appeared in front of Gantz, swatting him across the desert floor. Puffs of sand shot upwards every time he smacked against the ground, but he managed to flip around and skid along the dirt, eyeing the horizon eagerly for his opponent. However, a cackle sounded, and the monstrous hedgehog flashed past the Dusk agent. Sonic reeled his arm back, a swirling mass of black energy collecting around his fist. With no time to counter, Gantz swung his own fist, flames jumping against the ferocity of the orb collecting around Sonic's hand. When suddenly the attacks erupted, shooting each fighter bouncing through the sand. But, Sonic was quick to recover, and once more appeared in front of Gantz like a demon. The Tanuki sneered and back stepped, avoiding the powerful tail swipe from his hunter.

"It seems you've lost your ability to be strategic with that power boost...what a shame."

The soldier quickly inhaled, and then exhaled a titanic jet of flame at the demon. Sonic screeched in agony, clawing at the helmet as it began to melt around his face. But, this only served to anger the hedgehog, and fuel his rage.

With a great roar, the demonic hedgehog zipped through the fire, causing Gantz to gasp. Sonic heaved his fist back, allowing particles of light to compact around his entire arm. Before long, a bone-like structure crawled down his shoulder and formed another balled hand around the hedgehog's own just before impact. Rings of wind burst out from around the fighters, and suddenly Sonic drove Gantz down into the ground, splitting the desert apart. A fracture shot through the ground, causing the desert to crumble apart into a gaping hole.

Both Gantz and Sonic tumbled into the depths, bouncing off of falling rubble and debris on their way down. They kicked and clawed at one another, fighting desperately to take the life from the other before they fell to their doom. A chunk of rock suddenly broke loose from the cavern wall, colliding with Sonic and pinning him to the ground in the shadows. Gantz, on the other hand slid back, panting tiredly. Though he couldn't see a thing, there was no presence of the monster his opponent had become.

Dropping his fists, Gantz stumbled to one knee, the exhaustion finally catching up to him. But, he had no time to rest. Especially not now.

The rock over Sonic began cracking, as did the ground they stood on once again. Waves of purple and black light expanded through the cracks, ripping apart the cavern, allowing magma to spew down the walls of the trench, illuminating it with a satanic glow. Suddenly the rubble on top of Sonic had been vaporized, and there he stood once again. Steam spewed from the nostril holes of the blue hero's helmet, magma dripping all around him.

He truly looked like a demon out of the deepest pit of Hell.

"Now I see," the Dusk soldier noted tiredly. "This isn't your own power...no, it's much stronger than that. You were given this by someone..._something_, rather. But who?"

The beast screeched with a distorted voice, the horns turning gold, while two bat like wings sprouted from his shoulders.

"You definitely aren't normal."

In the blink of an eye, Gantz found a gauntlet of energy smack into his body, heaving him against the wall. Then, two horns dug into the heated rock behind him, as Sonic's face drew near. He could feel the warm breath move along his skin, and watched as puffs of steam pulsed through the nostrils of the mask. Magma began dripping past the horns, oozing to their feet.

"Not normal at all."

Suddenly fire and heat gathered at Gantz's hand, and in a flash he drove his fist into the beasts belly, creating a scorching hole in it. Another fist smashed against the monsters chest, and an assault of punches drove the beast back into a wall. Finally, the tanuki grabbed hold of the smoking, golden horns and heaved Sonic's face into his knee. The beast screamed, it's helmet chipping and dissolving. Another fist found itself lodged into Sonic's gut, this time it heaved him up into the air, blood dripping from the fractured helmet and onto Gantz's boot. The tanuki delivered a knee into the demon, then kicked him up into the wall, watching as magma and rock washed over Sonic.

Another unholy scream echoed across the small cavern, and Gantz watched as the pieces of Sonic's armour broke and fell to the ground. A pleased grin found its way onto Gantz's face, and he jumped towards his prey. He grappled the beasts horns, and swung the devilish hero out of the cavern and into the sky. A flash of fire streaked past the dazed hedgehog, giving life to the Dusk soldier above. Gantz swung his arm into the sky and cackled, embers quickly spinning into an orb in his palm. The more power it gained, the more the attack began to look like a ball of magma.

"Say goodbye, kid," shouted Gantz, as he tensed his arm and through the attack.

Rings of flame swooshed outwards behind the orb, as it screamed through the sky and collided with Sonic, carrying him into the ground. Fire, dust and smoke shot outwards into a dome around the beast, seemingly vaporizing him.

As the blast died out, the exhausted Dusk agent fell to the ground. Propped on one knee, he stared through the smoke for any signs of life, and as it cleared, no one remained.

Another growl behind him suddenly caught his attention, and with a terrified gaze, he spun to meet Sonic behind him. The beast roared with such aggression, one might think it was no longer the lovable blue hero. The gauntlets around his arms crumbled to the ground, along with half of the helmet. However, Sonic screamed with power, digging his horns into Gantz's chest, pinning him into the ground as an orb of black light spun into existence at the beastly jaws of the mask.

Wind blew against the fighters, and everything went quiet.

Then, the orb detonated, erupting around the two in a blast dwarfing a nuclear bomb. Gantz screamed from within, but only momentarily. Soon his pleas and cries of pain were drowned out by the pure display of power, and as quickly as it had come, it vanished into a column of light that pierced the sky, fizzling away.

The battlefield cleared, and Sonic fell to his knees beside the scorched body of his hunter, his body leaking blood. He heaved in breaths of air, his chest on fire. Finally the hero tumbled onto his back, staring into the sky. His eyes closed for a brief moment, but shot back open in fear.

Above him, Gantz had managed to muster the last of his energy into his only remaining arm, creating a blade of fire. The sword plunged down towards Sonic, whom without even thinking lurched to the left, a ball of wind bursting to life in his palm, which he then plunged through Gantz's chest.

Blood splashed across Sonic's face and body, as he stared into the blank eyes of his attacker, watching him topple back onto the desert floor.

With a pained groan, the speed demon struggled back to his knees to crawl away from the bloody corpse beside him. The desert trembled again, an earthquake tearing apart the ground just as a flash of light swallowed Sonic up, carrying him to safety.

Gantz's dead body ttumbled down into the depths of the earth, forever lost to the world.


	49. Chapter 49: Bloodlust

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 49: Bloodlust**

"_The selfish desire of wanting to maintain peace causes strife, and from that hatred is born to protect love."_

**Location: Station Square**

The city nestled up against the ocean once stood proud, strong and beautiful. Now, it was but a shell of it's former glory. Buildings had been set ablaze from the war, and while some managed to stand despite the damage, many were strewn across the streets in a despicable mess.

People screamed, fleeing from the creatures now freely roaming the streets, which had become a battleground. Dead bodies could be seen through the rubble, but the beasts that had taken charge of the city didn't care.

A zombie like creature stumbled lazily through the wreckage, the blade stitched to it's arms dripping with blood from the group of GUN soldiers laying lifelessly down the street. The beast growled to itself, then craned it's head to get a look at the sudden disturbance it had sensed.

Purple and black energy convulsed and spun around itself, then expanded outwards to create a portal, throwing the heroes to the ground. However a storm of debris followed the group, killing the beast in the process.

Sonic, Amy, Cream, Knuckles and Shadow each stumbled to their feet from the disorienting means of travel. However a scream in the sky caught their attention, and collectively they looked up to see the monstrosity Galaxy had released looming above them in the sky, the clouds becoming dark and charged with power from it's influence.

"So...now what?" Amy wondered out loud. "Where did the others end up?"

The pink hedgehog turned to see her hero sitting quietly on the sidewalk, his face emotionless. Walking quietly over to the blue blur, she could hear the quiet sobs coming from him.

"What's the matter, Mister Sonic?" Cream asked curiously, somewhat afraid of the answer.

By now, the other two had taken it upon themselves to gather around the blue hero. His eyes seemed blank, and it only made them more curious what could've happened to him. Amy noticed his wounds, and sat beside the hero.

"What happened?" She asked quietly.

"Tails..." Sonic replied, his body shaking. "He was killed, Amy."

Silence lingered in the air, and even Shadow was slightly taken back by the revelation. A pang of sadness hit everyone in some form. Cream fought back a cascade of tears, her two Chao hugging her in hopes to be of some comfort. Knuckles looked at the ground, holding his wounded right arm.

Suddenly, Shadow's communicator buzzed to life. A voice spoke through the static, heavily distorted. The group looked up to the Ultimate Lifeform, who had taken it upon himself to respond into the device.

"Who is this?" He replied quickly, hoping it was one of their own.

"I'm...Station Square..." The device continued crackling in and out of the signal, until finally the static cleared. "Guys, I have the Chaos Emeralds, and I'm with the Chaotix..."

Sonic's eyes darted up to Shadow, and he quickly jumped to his feet and ripped the communicator away from the former GUN agent. "Tails! Is that you?!"

"Um...yeah, what's going on, Sonic?" Came the confused reply of the young fox.

Tears had begun flowing down Sonic's face more so at this point, but in utter happiness rather than pain. "I saw the Tornado get shot down when I was fighting one of those cloaked freaks...boy am I glad to hear your voice, buddy."

"So that's what happened to it..." Tails said with a sigh. "I had turned auto pilot on in my new Tornado model so that we could meet up. But I guess it was destroyed. Who's with you?"

"Shadow, Amy, Cream and Knuckles," Sonic replied, looking over the group of wounded and exhausted heroes.

"Any sign of Mighty?"

"No, I thought he woulda been with you..." the blue blur responded worriedly. "I'm sure he's fine. He probably got sent somewhere else in the city. What happened back there?"

"I think Galaxy split us up to buy time for that creature in the sky. And by the looks of things, he managed to stall us long enough. I've been waiting in Station Square for about two hours now. Any sign of Dusk over there?"

The city shook as the beast in the sky grew closer, demolishing the buildings in the horizon as it did so. Worry became mutual amongst the heroes, and Sonic could tell that the others with Tails were seeing the same thing.

"None. I killed one of them..." Sonic answered with remorse.

"We finished another off as well," Amy piped up, pain lining her words at the memory of the cryptic encounter her and Cream had.

"So did I," Knuckles said with an exasperated sigh.

"We found that crazy monkey, but Shrike killed him," Vector informed from the other side of the communicator, sending Shadow on edge from the mention of his former commander. "So that should mean only the leader is left?"

"Seems like it," Tails agreed. "I think we should focus on regrouping for now. We're with Rouge at a GUN stronghold near the south end of the city. We're about two blocks from the hotel."

"Good to know, because that's where we are." Sonic sighed in relief, and led the group in the direction of the others. "We'll see you soon. Keep us updated if you find Mighty."

"Roger that."

**Location: Adabat**

Water splashed against the shore, carrying lonely chunks of melting ice into the sand. Another wave lapped up, carrying two bodies with it. The first body was of a girl, and the second was Mighty. The duo rolled onto shore, blood leaking from their wounds, but yet they each continued breathing.

Mighty's eyes fluttered open against the light in the sky, and slowly he forced himself to stand up. His eyes wandered down to the stump where his hand used to be, and the pain quickly resurfaced. The armadillo grimaced, and gripped the bloody end with his hand. A light shone from it, slowly sealing up the wound with new skin cells. Once the wound had been sealed, Mighty sighed and struggled to his knees to look at Crush.

Her chest rose and fell in a slow motion, causing him to smile weakly. The young traveller crawled over to her, and grasped her hand tightly, beginning to heal her wounds like he had done with his own.

Slowly the gashes and impalements strewn across her body closed up thanks to Mighty, and with time, they were all gone. The hero groaned and flopped back into the sand beside her, despite the pool of blood surrounding them.

"I told you I was going to save you, Crush," he whispered.

Beside him, she stirred and a weak groan escaped her lips. The armadillo sprung to a seated position and looked at his comrade, who had begun to come to.

"Where am I...what happened?" she asked simply, rubbing her head as she sat up in the sand.

"I kept my promise; that's what happened." Mighty replied with a tired smirk.

Crush turned to stare at the armadillo with weak eyes, a flood of different emotions filling her. She felt angry, sad, happy and relieved all at the same time. Yet, she didn't feel close to how she felt earlier during their battle.

She felt...free of something.

"How did you...we were both dead, Mighty. How did you manage to revive us?"

Looking down at his hands, the young armadillo shrugged his shoulders. "Y'know...I don't have an answer for that. I kind of just acted out of instinct. How do you feel, by the way? Can you walk?"

Slowly the duo stood up with the help they provided each other.

"Now what do we do?" she asked curiously, staring at the beast in the sky. "I can't go back to them...or I'll be killed for failing. But...in all honesty, I don't want to go back there. I wasn't myself, Mighty. Eggman did something to me when he captured me. I think you knocked me out of it, somehow."

"Whatever it was, it's done with now. I'll get ahold of the others and see if they're okay – maybe Tails will be able to come get us."

"Right." Crush nodded, and the duo walked through the jungle to a clearing.

**Location: Station Square**

Sonic led his group down the barren streets, a feeling of uneasiness within him. He felt a presence clawing at his subconsciousness, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to hold it at bay. Sonic rubbed his head tiredly, and continued walking despite the wounds over his body.

Coming to a blocked off tunnel that they had needed to go through, the group sighed in unison. "Now what?" Knuckles grumbled.

"There's a street that heads toward the other's location just past this freeway," Shadow informed, and jumped up onto the overpass that ran past their route. "But, it looks like GUN is fighting off more of those creatures that way."

"We could always just break through into the tunnel," Sonic interjected. "You don't seem so beat up like the rest of us."

"That's because I didn't encounter Dusk when I was sucked through that Portal," Shadow replied, and jumped back down to the group, a rippling orb of yellow energy fizzling to life in his palm. "Stand back."

Heading the dark hedgehog's advice, the group took shelter behind an overturned bus just as he heaved the orb forwards. The sphere expanded into a rippling spear of chaos energy, and smashed into the rubble that had blocked the entrance to the tunnel off. A flash of light erupted in the area, and the debris shot across the ground. Smoke billowed upwards from the point of impact, and where the attack had struck an entrance could now be found.

However, from within the tunnel, a collection of dark spears of energy burst through into the street, just barely skimming past Shadow. The dark hero threw his arms up to defend against a shockwave of energy, which blew away most of the debris and overturned vehicles in the area. The group taking shelter scrambled to safety behind Shadow, and then another blast of power ripped at the ground.

Slabs of concrete cracked and rose up from the ground, as the streets ripped apart from the energy coming from within the tunnel.

"So it seems you're all still alive." The figure from within cackled, creating spires of dark energy to rip apart at the tunnel, causing it to crumble down. "I'm assuming my followers are dead as well?"

"And it didn't take much to take care of their sorry asses, either!" Sonic quipped angrily, darting past Shadow with a balled fist.

The hero threw his fist forward, blue energy collecting around it in a fearsome display of power. Galaxy ducked to the left, allowing the attack to slip past him, giving him the opportunity to send his elbow bolting into Sonic's chin. The blue hero yelped, spitting up a mouthful of blood as he stumbled backwards. However, Shadow appeared in a flash of light in between them, his entire body glowing with ferocious crimson and violet energy.

In one swift motion, the dark hedgehog shoved Sonic backwards, warping him away to the others. Then Shadow spun on his heel and delivered an uppercut into Galaxy, catching him off guard. The cat staggered back in shock, but Shadow had already charged another attack in his fist, and slammed each of his palms against the cat, unleashing a vicious dome of light.

The ground beneath the fighters smoked and boiled from the Chaos Energy, and the remaining heroes grunted, protecting their eyes with their arms in order to avoid being blinded. They could feel the intense heat of the blast even at a distance of thirty yards.

Suddenly the attack died out, and spun upwards into a shaft of light, and disappeared. Shadow remained in a crater formed from his attack, heaving in deep breaths of air.

"Where'd he go?" Sonic mumbled, unable to see their enemy through the debris. "He disappeared..."

Galaxy snickered, materializing through the concrete behind Sonic. A firm hand gripped his ankle, and then the maniacal cat heaved a surprised Sonic through a warp hole. The group yelled and lunged to save their comrade, but Galaxy reappeared, knocking them back with a wave of black particles. However, Shadow leaped above, a Chaos Spear ready in his hand.

"Not so fast..." Galaxy sneered, then flipped backwards to avoid the attack.

A charged burst of Chaos Energy tore apart the street, but Galaxy grasped at the dark hedgehog once again, yanking him through the same portal he had sent Sonic.

"Don't let him escape!" Knuckles howled, dashing to jump through the warp tunnel as well, but came up short.

"Now what do we do..." Amy asked in fear. "We have to find them! They could be killed...Sonic isn't in any condition to fight, not with wounds like that!"

"Sir Shadow will protect Sonic, I'm sure of it!" Cream exclaimed with a smile, Thorn and Cheese chirping reassuringly at her side. "Let's go find Tails and the others, he most likely has a plan. He always knows what to do!"

"Right, let's go," Amy nodded after taking in a deep breath. "Can you make it, Knuckles?"

"Yeah, I have some spunk left in me. I can make it to the others." He nodded and followed the girls into the tunnel just as the earth shook once more from the beast in the sky.

**Location: Voxili**

Both Shadow and Sonic tumbled out of the warp hole they had been sent through, and rolled through the dirt. High above in the sky, they could see the faint outline of the beast Polaris in the sky, but, that was the least of their concerns at the moment. Shadow grunted and scanned the area for their opponent, but found only the battered remains of a once great nation.

"It's been awhile since I've been here," he commented solemnly. "Their entire city was nearly flattened in the Millennium War. Hard to believe it's still around."

"I've heard you mention that war quite a bit...what exactly happened?" Sonic asked curiously, wiping the dust from himself.

"Long story short, a man posing as a GUN Scientist and Black Ops squadron leader was conspiring behind the scenes to create a war between GUN and Voxili. He staged the death of the royal family's son, and used the conflict to bring his genetic weapon into the fray. Essentially, that man was why the President is so against the concept of human experimentation. Believe it or not, he almost gained control of GUN after he killed Commander Towers."

"However, someone working with GUN's Apotos dispatch managed to kill him. He reminded me a lot of you, now that I think of it. Same cockiness and arrogance that you have – albeit a bit brighter."

Sonic groaned at the sudden insult. "You're so sweet."

"Be quiet...I hear someone," Shadow barked.

Another portal opened up, this time it's power wrapped across the courtyard of the church they had landed in. Black particles jumped upwards, creating walls and spires of darkness. In a matter of seconds, the energy had created a Colosseum in the church courtyard, the walls lined with sparking spears of energy. The heroes watched as the ground shook and morphed, letting loose a horde of beasts. Behind them, Galaxy appeared, darkness lurching at his feet.

"Since you two are the biggest threats to my domination...I'll kill you both here. This is the end of the road, you rodents."

"Heh, you sure are cocky, Galaxy!" Sonic retorted with a smirk, ignoring the heavy injuries across his body. "Shad's and I are gonna kick your ass and stop this here!"

"Fat chance, hedgehog," the cat quipped with a vicious sneer.

Once again, the earth trembled, and in the sky a portal opened up, much bigger than the others they had been seeing. Sonic gulped, a chill racing down his spine, while Shadow stood stoic and motionless, though obviously concerned about what was about to happen.

From within the portal, a terrifying sight emerged. The gaping, fanged jaws of Polaris pushed through, it's roar shaking the kingdom of Voxili with little effort. Buildings crumbled from the power, and soon, a gust of wind from the booming howl of the beast ripped past Sonic and Shadow. The duo grunted and guarded their faces, unable to see the beast as it descended down on the duo, it's wings ripping apart at the city.

"I didn't bring you two here to fight you myself," Galaxy informed with a sadistic smile. "In fact, I'm not even going to bother sticking around. I wouldn't want to get any of your blood on myself."

Shadow and Sonic took a step back to avoid Polaris as it's gigantic hand struck the ground outside the Colosseum. The earth trembled and quaked, causing the buildings to crumble around the structure containing the hedgehog duo.

"The way I see it... if we defeat that thing, then Galaxy has no trump card," Shadow suggested quickly, analyzing Polaris for any signs of a weak spot. "It looks like the only place it's armour lets up is near it's head. I'll hold Galaxy off here while you make your up its body. Hurry!"

"Right!"

In a burst of blue energy, Sonic shot up the arm of the beast before it lurched out of the ground. The blue hero yelped, staggering from the sudden movement and latched onto a spiked protrusion in it's arm for dear life.

The hedgehog weaved in and out of the many spikes erupting along the surface of the beast and continued his assault up to the beasts head. However, a group of zombie like creatures clawed out of the armour of Polaris, the blades stitched to their arms glowing with power.

Sonic snickered, an orb of blue wind erupting to life in his palm. "You guys sure are ugly. But, unfortunately for you, I don't have time to waste! Now clear the way asshats!"

Screeches of disapproval escaped the horde of creatures, and they lunged towards the blue hero. Sonic quickly rolled beneath three of them, and then slammed his attack into the chest of another, which carried it away into the sky along with four more. The trio he had avoided whirled around and attacked as he landed back on Polaris.

"Nice try!" Sonic howled and swept his arm through the air, firing off blades of blue wind which severed the creature's bodies in half.

Wiping the sweat that had collected on his brow, Sonic sighed. "Whew... these guys have a lot more fire power than any of Eggman's schemes. I guess I could use the work out..."

The blue hero rocketed back up the beast, turning into a comet of blue energy.

Below, Shadow rolled backwards to avoid a trail of black spears racing towards him. The dark hedgehog unleashed a barrage of Chaos powered pellets, shattering through the attack in a storm of yellow light.

Galaxy snarled, and jumped towards Shadow, his arm heaved back and gathering a mass of black and violet particles to his fingers.

"Lupus!"

The cat swung his arm, sending a wave of violet energy racing across the ground towards Shadow. The black hedgehog grunted and rolled away from the particles, watching as they collided with a Dusk beast standing nearby. The particles suddenly engulfed the beast, eating away its body with the vicious attack.

"Heh, nice job evading that," Galaxy remarked dangerously, his gloves glowing an eerie navy colour. "But, don't start feeling too confident yet!"

Galaxy slammed his palms into the ground, causing the ground to glow and churn. Then, the earth itself turned a mixture of black, blue and violet from Galaxy's influence. The cat quickly heaved his hands upwards, creating a flurry of orbs which floated around him.

"Hyrdra!" He bellowed, and swung his arms forwards.

From the eight orbs of energy, long, winding tendril like arms shot forward, reaching out to Shadow. The dark hedgehog rolled to avoid the first, and then delivered a punch infused with a massive amount of Chaos Energy to another. The attack erupted with a crimson flash, destroying the arm like it were paper. However, it recovered, but split up into two separate tendrils. The vines lashed out towards Shadow once again.

One of the arms wrapped around Shadow, and Galaxy heaved his arm back, which in turn caused the tendril of energy to whip Shadow in the air. The dark hedgehog grunted in desperation, creating a blade of Chaos Energy at his wrist. Swiping downwards, the hedgehog cut through the tendrils holding his body, and warped behind Galaxy.

"Nice try," Shadow sneered and grappled the cat, his body smoking with energy.

"You're daring, for a military dropout."

A concussive blast of Chaos Energy churned around the duo, until finally the attacked erupted upwards, ripping apart the colosseum in a flash of power.

Sonic swung around another group of the beasts, and jumped up into the air. The hedgehog glanced down at the dome of light back on the ground, finding that it had destroyed everything in its path, leaving no signs of survivors. Sonic gulped, swallowing the lump in his throat and landed on the head of the beast with a sigh. The blue hero hunched over, resting his hands on his knees to take a break.

"These guys sure do mean business..." Sonic murmured exhaustedly. "I hope Shadow is okay down there. Then again he's much too stubborn to die...but where could he have gone?"

Another portal opened up in front of Sonic, revealing the comrade in question being held by his throat. Galaxy stepped through, and dropped to the ground – rather, Polaris' head. Which was the same thing, considering the size of the beast. The cat tossed Shadow to Sonic's feet, and snickered, the Twilight Keys gathering at his body.

"I suppose it's about time to stop playing...huh?" Galaxy snorted angrily, as the keys plunged themselves into his body. "You've wasted enough of my time, hedgehog."

Wind swept across the top of the beast, bringing a powerful storm cloud with it. Lightning glistened across the sky, and a heavy downpour followed. Suddenly, wave of brilliant light escaped Galaxy, engulfing Polaris, and the two heroes looking on in shock. They felt their bodies distort, and in a split second, the light died out.

**Location: Above Station Square**

Station Square's horizon emerged, and the beast they were atop of descended down into the street, crushing the buildings beneath it. Sonic growled and darted his attention to Galaxy, finding he had been wrapped up with dark vines extending from Polaris. Energy pulsed down the vines like blood through veins, and the beast unleashed a mighty roar, which created a devastating shockwave to level out a portion of the city. From within his cocoon, Galaxy laughed insanely, then walked through the the vines. His body had now been marked with strange, hellish markings that shone with such brilliance, one would mistaken him for a star. The cat tensed his arms, his muscles bulging from the power up Polaris had given him. Then, Galaxy smirked and unleashed a burst of energy, shooting the duo down into the streets.

Another flash of light engulfed the city, creating earthquakes and deadly thunder storms. Twisters struck the ground, creating a hellish apocalypse around Station Square. The heroes glanced up at Galaxy, only for the blinding energy to increase, swallowing the broken metropolis up.

"_Our desire for peace is sometimes clouded with the underlying scars dealt to us by pain. Using our pain as a motivation for peace will only end in war." ~ Xanthos Itnemeles, GUN Spec Ops Commander, 1999_

**To be Continued**


	50. Chapter 50: The Conqueror, Part 1

**Violet Dreams **

**Part II**

**Chapter 50: The Conqueror, Part I**

"_Power is not a means, it is an end"_

**Location: Station Square**

Concrete and rock jumped away from both Sonic and Shadow as they collided with the streets, sending a tremor throughout the area. However, the heroes with three of the Emeralds quickly raced towards the crater the impact had created, and eased the duo out to heal them with the gems Their wounds faded, leaving nothing but dried blood on their bodies, restoring some hope in their victory.

Yet, something didn't quite feel right.

The group turned their shocked expressions towards the shining beacon of power residing at the helm of Polaris. A tidal wave of light suddenly engulfed the city, blinding everyone. For a moment, time seemed to come to a stand still, but, then the flash died out, revealing a dark, twisting sky around them. In the distance, the Nocturnus Citadel looming hauntingly caught the heroes attention. All at once, a single thought crossed their minds...

They weren't on Earth.

"I never thought we'd see this place again," Sonic mumbled irritably, turning his attention towards Tails. "So...what's the plan now, bro?"

Managing to do away with his worried expression, Tails turned to the group, taking a deep breath to calm himself down. "Right now, we have to find the Emeralds scattered across the city. Galaxy somehow tapped into the power of the Emeralds from atop of Polaris and teleported us here...until we find them...well, to put it bluntly...all hope is lost! Galaxy, under _**no **_circumstances, is allowed to get his hands on the Emeralds!"

Knuckles smirked, and stretched his arms to ready himself for battle. "Then so be it. The Chaotix and I will go get half of the Emeralds, while Tails, Rouge, Amy and Cream get the other half."

"Sonic...Shadow..., you two gotta go stop Galaxy! He's not going to just sit by and watch us rip the red carpet from under him!" Amy exclaimed. "The fate of Station Square...no, the world is in your hands right now. But, I know you can handle it, Sonic...that's why you're my hero after all!"

The blue hero's eyes grew wide, realizing all the entrusting gazes that had set on him from the others.

With a gentle sigh, Sonic closed his eyes to calm his nerves. Everything leading up to this moment had felt like a dream. Yet, here he was in this hell hole that he had hoped to never see again in his life. Somehow, life seemed to sucker punch him when he least expected it, and he had begun to grow weary of the unpredictable life he had acquired.

Although, all the battles they had fought leading up to this moment, Sonic knew they were to prepare him somehow. He didn't know what force laid the trials out for him, or if it was simply just coincidence – but even so, he knew it was his duty to protect everyone. Regardless of anything that came his way. He was a hero, after all. At least, that's what everyone saw him as.

His eyelids fluttered open revealing two, confident green eyes. He looked over his comrades, knowing full well that they had entrusted to him their own fates. Looking to Shadow next, Sonic grinned and spun around to face Polaris, who had started charging a devestating attack at it's maw, ready to obliterate what was left of the city.

"Ready to do this, Shadow?" Sonic said, giving a thumbs up to the others. "We'll see you guys in a jiffy."

Shadow nodded, and although hesitant, he took his place beside the blue hero. In his hand, a brilliant Chaos Spear had chirped to life, dancing madly in his palm. Noticing the attack, Sonic dashed ahead, with Shadow in tow.

Behind them, the remaining heroes went their separate ways.

"Let's head back to the top," Shadow suggested, unleashing his attack upon a group of unfortunate Dusk pawns in front of them. The creatures screeched dangerously, their black blood staining the ground as the heroes dashed past the massacre. "If we can limit his use of that ..._monster, _then we can focus our power on Galaxy. Besides, the sooner we get out of range from that thing, the easier it'll be to kill that mad man!"

"Sounds good!"

The blue hero quickly jumped to the left, avoiding the gargantuan claw of Polaris. The hand smashed into the ground, ripping apart a chunk of the city, sending it spiralling off further into the Twilight Cage. The twins quickly jumped up onto the hand, only to face a larger Dusk beast, it's hammer-like arms crashing down in front of them.

Acting quickly, Sonic grasped Shadow's wrist and swung him towards the creature. A dazzling blade of energy emerged from the Ultimate Lifeform's hand in the process, turning his speeding form into a blinding arrow of power. In the blink of an eye he pierced through the creature, cutting it in half as though it were no sturdier than scrap paper. Shadow emerged on the other side in a flurry of the beast's particle like DNA, while Sonic launched further up the arm, evading the monsters rising from Polaris to stop him.

"Focus on reaching Galaxy, I'm going to hold these things off to make it easier for you to reach the top," Shadow ordered, sending a Chaos Spear hurtling through a group of four beasts, slaughtering them.

"Don't get too reckless while I'm gone!" Sonic remarked with a wink, and sped off towards his destination.

With an annoyed grumble, Shadow ducked beneath another mallet aimed at his head. His crimson eyes darted up to meet the Dusk beast's own, however something about his were vastly different. Though the creature displayed nothing but coldness and killer instinct...Shadow's were of terrifying murderous intent. After all, he had a promise to uphold to the one person he loved more than anyone. And under no circumstances would he allow himself to break it.

The beast belted out, the mouth on it's stomach opening to unleash a beam of light from the depths of it's body. Shadow jumped back with ease, the attacking skimming his shoulder in the process.

"Damn you," Shadow murmured, clutching the wound with his hand to help stop the bleeding.

With another horrific screech, the behemoth lunged forward, both it's arms raised high above it's head and ready to flatten Shadow with one swing. The dark hedgehog quickly swung his arm upwards, igniting a blade of Chaos Energy from his wrist in the process. A flicker of golden light shot up through the beast's arms, ripping them off in a bloody display of power. Before the severed appendages had a chance to hit the ground, Shadow had already shot forwards, tearing through the beast and ultimately cutting it in half. The creature screamed, and then disappeared like it's brethren.

Shadow glanced up the arm of Polaris, noticing Sonic had nearly made it to the top. With a gentle sigh of relief, Shadow tapped into the lingering powers of the Chaos Emeralds and disappeared in the light of Chaos Control to meet his comrade (as much as he hated to acknowledge Sonic as such) at the top.

First, Sonic arrived, though he wasted no time at all to strike and jumped at Galaxy with a powerful, churning sphere of energy cupped in his hand. His eyes displayed only resolve, and he was determined to end the battle with one attack in that very moment.

"Check mate, scumbag!" Sonic roared, thrusting his arm out towards the cat. The orb suddenly expanded at a terrific pace, becoming more than five times its original size before landing against Galaxy.

The orb spun out of control, becoming a comet of blue energy as it swirled and devoured Galaxy in a vortex of power. Sonic grinned and jumped backwards out of the wind and smoke, landing beside Shadow.

"Looks like you were a bit late, Shadow! I've already went and finished his sorry ass!"

Galaxy snickered devilishly from within the debris, throwing his arms to his sides. The debris quickly dispersed, revealing the Dusk soldier's alarming metamorphosis he had undergone from the power of Polaris. Both the heroes seemed to gasp in shock at the transformation, each taking a step back to ready themselves for whatever may come next.

"Looks like you spoke too soon, moron," Shadow quipped snidely.

"You two are quickly becoming an annoyance to me..." Galaxy seethed, his eyes now dark as night, with only a golden pupil to distinguish them from his tainted fur. His body was also entirely black, save for the gems on his gloves, and the white markings on his chest, that upon closer inspection, resembled Polaris itself - though a much more serpentine form. Another striking feature that the heroes noticed, were the unusually large, white spines protruding from Galaxy's back, each embedded with one of the Twilight Keys.

"Shucks...then I guess all my efforts from earlier were no good!" Sonic quipped playfully, despite the demonic appearance of the cat.

Turning his ferocious gaze over to Shadow, the cat noticed his terrified expression, and grinned madly at the sight. "What's the matter, _Shadow_? Has my new form got you scared? Hmm?!"

"Don't listen to him," Sonic retorted quickly, setting a hand on his comrades shoulder. "We got this!"

"No need to console me, faker." Shadow flexed his hand, a surge of energy racing down his bicep to create another Chaos Spear. "I was simply taken back by his ugly appearance! I guess that's the price to pay for power!"

Enraged, and now clearly insane, Galaxy howled angrily and dashed towards the heroes, ripping free from the many white tendrils that had been attached to his back. The tentacles flopped to the ground, but quickly dissolved into the ground. Meanwhile, Galaxy had snatched Sonic by the throat, and threw him into the rock throne from the base Charmy was killed in.

"Ack!" Sonic yelped, spitting up a mouthful of blood.

The chair broke apart from the blue hero tumbling into it, rock and debris obscuring his form. Shadow, however took his partner's downfall as his opening and attacked, plunging the Chaos Spear through the Dusk agent's chest. Upon contact, the spear erupted, searing a hole through Galaxy's chest.

Shadow pulled his hand out of the former royal soldier, and kicked him back. The dark hedgehog grunted, watching as the cat simply sunk into the ground, his blood evaporating into the air.

"How...?" The Ultimate whispered to himself in confusion, attempting to form a strategy.

Suddenly Sonic broke through the rubble, his fist clenched and reeled back in preparation to attack. Galaxy had only just rematerialized when Sonic jolted his fist against the cat's face, sending him hurtling off of Polaris and into the streets of Station Square.

Several buildings toppled to the ground, burying the cat in a mountain of rubble, creating his grave.

Drawing in huge breaths, Sonic sighed and leaned over the edge of Polaris, attempting to get a glance of their enemy.

"Y'know...something tells me this still isn't over..." Sonic murmured, breaking the unusual, and first moment of silence they had since they arrived. "Looks like Polaris really settles down when Galaxy isn't near it. Do you think he managed to fully tame it's power?"

"Could be," Shadow replied, standing at the edge of the monster's head as well. "I'm starting to think there's a connection between Galaxy's new form and Polaris."

"The theory is gonna have to wait..." Sonic said with wide eyes, pointing to the fallen buildings that had now began to quiver. "I guess he has a lot more fight left in 'im than we thought."

"No doubt, he's harnessing the power of a God for Chaos' sake!" Shadow scowled, yanking Sonic away as he jumped out of the path of a spear of dark energy.

The attack collided with what was left of the throne, vaporizing into dust. Sonic yelped to himself, clutching his body, clearly intimidated. However, the dark hedgehog frowned, noticing the striking similarities the attack had to his own Chaos Spear.

"Jeez, that coulda been me..." he whimpered in relief. "Thanks, Shadow. I owe you one!"

"Then I'll take what you owe me right now...go and distract Galaxy for me, I need to test something."

"What?!" Sonic bellowed with disbelief, his jaw dropping. "You've _got _to be kidding me, right?! Why do I have to be the one to go toe-to-toe with that maniac?!You're the Ultimate Life Form, why can't _you _do it!"

Narrowing his eyes, Sonic poked his finger against Shadow's chest accusingly. "Or are you just afraid?"

Shadow growled, and cracked Sonic on the head with his fist. "Shut up, idiot! There's something I need to make sure. And since you're not smart enough to deduce a proper strategy, that means _you _have to be the guinea pig while I come up with one!"

"Maybe if you were a bit nicer about it!" Sonic retorted quickly while rubbing his head painfully. "You didn't have to hit me either..."

"Just hurry up and get down there. The others are still somewhere on the streets gathering the Emeralds. He's sure to have figured out what they're doing by now, and it won't be long before he decides to find them."

"Yeah, yeah~," Sonic yawned, stretching his arms. "Just hurry up and do your strategizing, or whatever. I wouldn't wanna take _all_ the glory for pummelling his ass into the ground!"

Sighing with annoyance, Shadow sent the blue hero down into the streets with Galaxy using Chaos Control. His hand suddenly sparked with power, a dancing orb of electrifying Chaos Energy chirping and convulsing in his palm. Whatever came next, he was ready to destroy it.

Shadow glared down into the city, readying his attack for Galaxy.

In a flash of light, Sonic appeared in the streets of Station Square, and despite the situation they were in, everything was dead silent. Which to Sonic, was very unusual considering the bustling city that the place had been not too long ago. The blue hero strolled towards the mound of rubble the buildings had created and stood in front of it with a displeased look.

"Where'd he go? It doesn't even look like he's gotten out yet..."

Another building crumbled at his left, forcing the blue hero to weave in and out of the raining debris to safety. Sonic charged down the street, the building toppling over onto another, shedding more rubble onto the already gigantic mound. Sonic quickly jumped up and pounced away from a wall, avoiding Galaxy as he swooped from above.

The cat's fist crashed into the building, sending a wave of violet flame up the wall. Glass shattered around the competitors, and Sonic quickly flipped over top Galaxy after snapping his leg out to kick the man. His toe smashed against the monstrosity's face, knocking him backwards. However, Sonic had landed behind him, a spinning sphere of wind already present in his hand and ready to strike.

The blue hero yelled and drove the attack up into Galaxy's spine, shooting through the air and crashing into the office building above, sending shards of glass raining across the battlefield. Amidst the debris, one of Galaxy's spines shattered against the ground, the Twilight Key within spinning on the ground from the impact. Acting quickly, Sonic grabbed the ancient item and diverted his attention up to Galaxy, who was now standing tall on the side of the building.

"Wait..what?" Sonic muttered in shock, squinting up at the man. "How the hell can he do that! Maybe he was bit by a radioactive spider as a kid?"

"Interesting..." Galaxy commented to himself, staring at the crystal orb in Sonic's hand. "The Twilight Key seems to mend in with your own Chaos Energy rather easily. Almost as though it's natural to your body. You're definitely not normal, are you, hedgehog?"

"I've done crazier." Sonic smirked, tightening his grip on the orb, throwing it with all his might.

The artifact rocketed up into the air, colliding against Galaxy's forehead. The cat howled in pain, clutching his nose as blood poured past his fingers. However, Sonic had begun running up the side of the building, another energy based attack forming in his hand.

As soon as Sonic's attack had matured, it disappeared, giving Sonic's arm a blue glow. The blue hero suddenly slid, and smashed his fist into Galaxy's gut, unleashing a condensed whirlwind from his hand, blasting Galaxy through the top half of the building, ripping it apart. The blue hero quickly jumped away from the structure allowing it meet the same fate as the others around him. In mid air, Sonic snagged the airborne Twilight Key, landing gracefully on the rooftop of an adjacent parking structure.

"Hm, I wonder what I could name that one..." Sonic wondered, a finger perched on his chin. "Perhaps, _The howling fist of fury! _Yeah..that has a nice ring to it!"

"You're getting on my nerves, blue hedgehog!" Galaxy screamed, emerging from the ground, his hand smoking with black energy.

Sonic twisted around to face his foe, but it was already too late.

The cat had dug his hand into Sonic's chest, burning through his skin with ease and ripped away at his flesh. With a mighty and devilish roar, that could only originate from hell itself, Galaxy heaved the blue hero into the ground, causing it to break apart. The ground beneath them gave way, the duo falling through to the next floor.

The building shook from the impact, while blood splattered across the walls of the parkade. Galaxy quickly jumped away, shaking his hand free of the crimson liquid on his glove.

Sonic screamed in agony, clutching the black flames ignited on his chest. The blue hero seethed and rolled around in a pool of his own blood, until finally the strange black fire had been extinguished.

"_Wh-what was that just now?" _Sonic wondered to himself, his eyes squint shut from the white hot pain flooding his body.

Slowly Sonic stumbled back to his feet, and turned to face Galaxy with weak and tired eyes. "Starting to feel the fatigue catching up with you?"

The dark Dusk soldier snickered, his wounds suddenly closing up as one of the orbs on his back shone brilliantly, blinding Sonic for a moment. Galaxy then walked towards Sonic, who cringed and stepped back fretfully, watching as the man devoured the Twilight Key he had managed to break loose.

Galaxy laughed, another spine emerging where the other had been destroyed, the Twilight Key once again wedged in the bone like protrusion.

Sonic wiped the blood from his face, adding to the stains already on his glove from holding the wound on his chest. "What are you?" the blue hero asked in fear.

"The perfect being," Galaxy replied simply. "With the Twilight Keys one with my body, I can use their individual powers to my leisure. It makes it a lot easier to control that putrid abomination over there when I have the power of Izanpheus himself! In fact...I think my power trumps his at this point! Hahahah!"

The blue hero grunted in shock from the sheer arrogance of the cat's words. "You're sure cocky..." He muttered.

"I have every right to be, you rodent! With this power, anyone would be foolish to try and stop me! Even the Master himself wouldn't dare confront me! I've become perfect, and now I'm going to destroy this inane existence!"

"Wh-what'd you say?!" Sonic shouted. "Is that all you Dusk goons are after? Just to destroy everything?!"

"I don't consider myself one of them any longer," Galaxy replied smoothly, his eyes becoming colder by the second. "The Master...the man who leads us...or rather, leads those sheep he calls followers, is after something else. He wants to create, I guess you could say. Heh...I've seen how annoying that goal is. This world is doomed to destroy itself, so I thought I'd give it a little push of encouragement, rather than saving it from the inevitable!"

"You're insane," Sonic said flatly, anger brewing in his eyes.

Suddenly Shadow appeared in the fray, standing in front of his comrade. "Rest for now, I think I've figured out his weakness."

"What!" Sonic answered happily, though still weak from his bout with Galaxy. "Well, what is it?!"

The dark hedgehog pointed at Galaxy, who was now staring at Shadow with utmost intrigue. Their eyes locked, and Shadow grinned slightly. "Those powers aren't his. They're the collective being of the Twilight Keys inside of him. Each of them represent a different aspect...giving him a wide variety of power. If we can separate him from them, then we'll have no trouble killing him. He's not using Polaris at all, it's basically just a big trophy right now."

Galaxy chuckled at the sudden revelation, and clapped his hands to applaud the hero. "Excellent job, Shadow. It seems as though your moniker isn't just referring to your physical power. You're a lot smarter than I gave you credit for. I guess I should have killed you back when I had the opportunity...I'll just have to make up for that mistake."

Quieting down, the cat grinned wildly, staring up through the gaping hole in the parkade and into the churning abyss of the Twilight Cage. "But even so...you haven't changed anything. You will all die by my hands today. It was the sin of the world that brought my home into turmoil, and nearly destroyed it. And it'll be me to take revenge for my family by destroying this filthy planet!"

"So that's why..." Sonic muttered, staring at the ground solemnly. "You were another victim of war, huh?"

"You could say that," Galaxy replied, his hands smoking with power once more, grabbing Shadow's attention.

"You know revenge won't fix -"

"I've heard it before! The whole 'revenge will only breed hatred' speech. That's why if I punish the entire _planet _for their sins there won't be a cycle. No longer will war exist, nor will there be death. Everything will be gone! Love...hate...war...everything."

The heroes remained silent, beginning to realize exactly what they were dealing with. What could they do against a man who had no fear of loss?

"Whether you kill me, or I kill you. The outcome _will_ be the same." Galaxy sneered viciously, the energy from his hands suddenly spreading across his body, forming a cloak of darkness.

"We'll see about that," Sonic barked, and in the blink of an eye he had appeared in front of Galaxy in a flash of blue.

The hedgehog howled, gripping the cat's shoulders, and then smashed his forehead into Galaxy's own. Their heads collided, causing Galaxy to go wide eyed for a moment before stumbling back. Sonic, on the other hand, teetered backwards, giving Shadow an opening to strike.

Crimson energy had begun boiling off of his quills, curling upwards into the air. His body seemed to spark and fizzle from the power he had been collecting, causing Sonic to believe he held more power than all of the nuclear reactors on the planet.

The air seemed thick with power, and Sonic couldn't help but feel slightly afraid.

Shadow sneered viciously, and lunged to Galaxy in a flash of light, grasping him by the throat.

Another flash of light filled the parkade, and then a burst of light exploded across the landscape, bringing a howling gust of wind with it. Sonic yelped and ducked down to avoid debris that ripped the parkade apart, but this didn't take Sonic's attention away from the dome of crimson in the distance.

The dome decimated buildings, trees, the ground and everything it came in contact with. Eventually, it chewed through the ground itself, becoming an orb of maddening power floating in the abyss of the Twilight Cage.

Within, only two figures were visible, but only slightly. One figure seemed to be steaming, the same figure whose scream could be heard all across the cage. Sonic was sure even the Nocturnus could hear it.

The sphere suddenly receded back to Shadow's body, but then erupted upwards into a pillar of violet before disappearing.

Sonic gasped and sped through the destruction Shadow's attack had created, weaving through the falling buildings toward his comrade. The blue hero quickly jumped across falling pieces of concrete as they fell to the ground, and leaped towards the unconscious Ultimate. Sonic scooped Shadow up, then focused with all his might on the lingering traces of the Chaos Emeralds power, effectively warping them to safety.

The twins spun out from a vortex and slid on the ground at the feet of their comrades.

"Are you two alright?" Rouge asked worriedly holding Shadow's steaming body in her arms, noticing his Inhibitor Cuffs had been destroyed.

Sonic groaned and sat up, rubbing his head in the process. Amy quickly hugged the hero, with a relieved sigh. "I'm so happy you're okay. We could feel Galaxy's attack from across the city..."

Returning the embrace, Sonic turned his eyes to the others, noticing the Chaos Emeralds they had gathered. "I could feel his power the entire time. How in the world did Galaxy get that strong so quickly? Is it because of Polaris?" Knuckles questioned, setting the gems in a row on the ground.

"I think so..." Sonic replied, watching as Shadow slowly sat up as well. "He fused his body with the Twilight Keys. He's totally lost it."

"The power of the Keys probably broke his psyche..." Shadow explained, seeming to only have realized the fact. "I had done research on those things earlier, and it's no wonder why Galaxy has lost it. He has seven different souls in him right now – eight including his own. Each of those keys represents one of the cardinal sins, and with it bares an ability that's associated with it."

Shadow stood up, watching as a flash of light flickered on the head of Polaris.

"Sloth, or dejection, is the first key. It influences time. The second is Lust, which is the key of regeneration. Third, Pride, which grants the user ESP like abilities. Fourth, Gluttony, giving the holder power over nature and minerals. Fifth, is the key of Wrath, which amplifies destructive powers and has an affinity with fire. Sixth is the key of Envy that grants the user control of water and illusionary abilities," Shadow continued, doing his best to ignore his weakening body from his last attack.

Polaris screeched, a purple cloak of energy slowly expanding across it's body, eating away it's skin. The heroes turned from Shadow momentarily to watch as a figure began hovering in front of Polaris, laughter booming across the pocket dimension.

"And finally...Greed. Which I presume to be the Twilight Key Doctor Eggman extracted from Galaxy. The key of Greed directly controls space, similar to the Chaos Emeralds. He's able to freely move from one place to another by moving across the space/time continuum, and can even conjure a black hole if he so wanted."

"You've gotta be kidding me," Sonic mumbled, watching Polaris turn into a cloud of energy and absorb into Galaxy.

All hope had been lost.

**To be Continued**


	51. Chapter 51: The Conqueror, Part 2

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 51: The Conqueror, Part II**

"_Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the mind of those who possess it."_

An apocalyptic shockwave swept across the ruined city of Station Square, ripping apart buildings and any structure that dared stand in the face of destruction. Vehicles of all shapes and sizes tumbled across the streets, while the wave of power seemed to flatten the city in but an instant. The heroes had each sought shelter behind Shadow and the barrier he had created at the last second, only to find that it too wasn't safe from Galaxy's new power.

The ground began to fade to black, everything that had once been a great city now corrupt, and seemingly alive with power. Creatures that belonged to Dusk, or only Galaxy – the group wasn't entirely sure at this point – climbed out of the earth, stalking closer to the group.

"Guys...what do we do now?" Sonic yelped eagerly, knowing full well his energy had been depleted.

Suddenly, the entire group took a stand in front of Sonic, leaving him alone with the Chaos Emeralds. From in front, Tails quickly turned to look back at his comrade, his face unusually stern and furious.

"Use the Emeralds and stop Galaxy, Sonic," the young fox pleaded, shooting down one of the creatures a split second later. "We believe in you."

And in that moment, the seven Chaos Emeralds shone their individual, brilliant colours. The flash of light consumed Sonic, stealing his attention away from his comrades who had begun fighting. Soon enough, everything disappeared. Sound, sight, scent, it was all gone.

Sonic watched as the world transformed around him, his surroundings turning into the same world he had found himself the first time he came face-to-face with his "other" side. Spires of gold shot up from the ground all around the hero, creating a pathway towards a gleaming spec of light in the distance.

Knowing that only a moment of hesitation could mean the death's of his friends, Sonic sped down the trail. The golden structures rose up beside him at speeds equal – or even greater – than him. Soon, the pillars weaved together upon rising out of the ground, turning into a tunnel that led far down into the ground.

Only light existed within this tunnel, and soon enough Sonic reached a mirror containing his own reflection. The blue hero stopped in front of the pane of glass and stared at himself intently, noting all the scars, gashes and wounds dealt to him over the course of the battles he had been in.

Then darkness crept down the mirror, and when it had been covered in a veil of shadow two gleaming, purple eyes shone back at Sonic. A shiver shot down the hedgehog's spine, yet he did his best to remain composed in the face of this beast.

"I need your power," Sonic demanded quickly, taking the deity off guard with his sudden demand.

The eyes grew as they looked Sonic up and down. "Interesting...you've come here of your own will?"

Suddenly the deity behind the glass disappeared, turning into Super Sonic, though his eyes were purple. Sonic took a step closer, conquering the fear building within him.

"I don't know who, or what you are. I don't know how you came to be...but I know you can help me." The blue hero mumbled while bowing his head.

Growing curious, the creature behind the glass morphed once again, this time to take the same shape as Sonic when borrowing the power of this beast. His mighty, serpentine tail swished in rhythm to the beating of the dark, phoenix-like wings sprouting from his back.

"What's in it for me?" The beast chuckled. "What do you have to offer?"

Slowly Sonic looked up, his face serious and solemn. He opened his mouth to speak, but froze, as if to ponder his words. The beast arched it's brow, and leaned in to hear the hero speak. Finally, Sonic shut his eyes and sighed.

"I offer my life."

**Location: Twilight Cage**

A burst of violet, gold and blue energy erupted free from Sonic, wrapping his body up like a cocoon of light. The creatures that had spawned from the earth dissolved from the heavenly light, forcing the remaining heroes to twirl around to catch a glimpse of their friend. One Emerald rose up and started to float around Sonic, quickly followed by the remaining six. The emeralds hovered around his form, until finally the gems had picked up speed. Now it seemed as though only a halo of light surrounded Sonic, when suddenly cracks jutted across the cocoon, causing it to break apart.

Sonic fell to the ground from within, his shoes, shoulders and hands steaming with power. His quills had become golden-yellow, while his eyes were now a ferocious red. However, along his six quills were purple rings wrapped around the ends, each glowing very dimly. Sonic remained quiet, staring intently at Galaxy, who had witnessed the entire transformation.

The seven Chaos Emeralds suddenly appeared and resumed their place around Sonic. The golden warrior continued watching Galaxy for a moment, then turned to look at his comrades with a warm smile.

"Listen, you guys need to go and find somewhere to hide." The blur walked between them, his eyes locked back onto their enemy. "I don't think there'll be a lot left of Station Square once I bring this freak to his knees. Shadow, I need you to get everyone to safety..."

Tapping the dark hedgehog beside him, a surge of power rushed down Sonic's arm and into Shadow's body, refuelling him. Suddenly the golden warrior disappeared in a winding beam of light headed towards Galaxy. The remaining heroes then flashed away with Shadow, leaving Sonic to finish up business with the man that had been wreaking havoc across the planet.

Sonic threw a devastating punch, roaring in anger as his knuckles cracked against Galaxy's jaw. The Dusk soldier tumbled through the sky at an insane speed from the blow, with Sonic in close pursuit. Sonic roared and delivered another fist towards the dark cat, just a moment before colliding with the ground. A shockwave ripped apart the buildings in the business district of Station Square. Offices and other structures crumbled to the streets around the fierce opponents in a magnificent display of destruction.

A beam of golden and purple light zipped through the debris, then landed a split second later on the outer edge of the crater. From within, a veil of light wrapped around Galaxy to heal his wounds and allow him to walk through the rubble towards Sonic.

"Your attacks are useless against me." Galaxy boasted with a sadistic grin. His hands raised up to his sides, smoking energy igniting at his finger tips. "However, I am impressed with that new form of yours. Is this perhaps the fabled _super _form I've heard so much about? Is this the power you used to kill Doctor Robotnik?"

Anger rushed through Sonic's veins at the mention of the old scientist's name. With clenched teeth and balled fists bursting with power, the golden warrior exploded towards his enemy. The ground beneath his feet erupted, creating a trench that reached right to the edge of the ruined city.

"Ack!"

One fist met Galaxy's jaw, then another came with the same blistering speed Sonic was known for, launching the cat through a forest of buildings. A snarl escaped Sonic just before he rocketed off towards the Dusk agent once more. The hero tore through the falling offices and skyscrapers, spreading rubble and debris further into the streets. Not a second had passed since Sonic's last relentless strike, and already he had honed in on his prey once again.

"_**You're dead!**_" Sonic howled, quickly approaching Galaxy who had begun pulling himself out of a pile of rock.

With a fist reeled back, Sonic landed on the ground not too far from the dark feline. His muscles tensed, sending a surge of energy rushing down Sonic's bicep, down his forearm and then to his open palm. In the blink of an eye, a spinning razor of light erupted within the blue blurs hand. The attack screamed through the city, making it's power known.

Fear, despair, uncertainty and many other emotions dashed across Galaxy's face. Then, everything grew quiet and Sonic thrust his palm forwards with a mighty roar. Ribbons of energy rippled past his body, then as his attack collided the world went quiet. The wind picked up pace, quickly becoming equal to a hurricane.

Galaxy screamed and lurched against the attack, his cries of agony becoming swallowed up by the sounds of howling wind.

Then as quick as the attack had come, it disappeared and launched the cat into the ground, breaking the it apart.

Sonic heaved in breaths and fell to his knees before the hole his attack had created. The Twilight Keys that had previously been one with Galaxy's body, were now scattered in a pool of the man's blood. No longer did he have the hellish appearance that the artifacts blessed him with, and Sonic assumed his power had also disappeared.

"Is that it...?" Sonic mumbled to himself.

He crawled closer to the edge of the hole, fearing for what he might see. Yet, he pressed on and peered down to see the devastation he had caused. In his mind, he pictured a dismembered body...with limbs ripped apart, and a man left dead in a pool of his own blood. Or, perhaps he was still alive, but knocked out?

Sonic's stomach dropped, and his face fell pale almost immediately. Galaxy had begun moving, his arms that were ripped off and left to rot started turning to dust. Like the appendages, the cat too turned into nothing more than a mound of black dust. Sonic grunted in fear, and kicked himself away from the scar in the earth, desperate to find his enemy before it was too late.

Unfortunately, his luck had run out.

Feeling a hand graze his quills, Sonic spun around to meet Galaxy face to face. A terrifyingly tight grip clasped around Sonic's throat, and in the next moment he found himself pinned to the ground, with the Dusk agent over top of him like a predator.

Each change Galaxy had lost was now returned. The seven, spherical artifacts had returned to the spines on the cat's back, forcing Sonic to believe this man was simply invincible.

Their noses touched, and while Galaxy had a look of madness and pride, Sonic wore one of horror and defeat.

"What do you think of me now...hedgehog?" He whispered venomously. "All those empty words...those threats...those promises...they seem rather pointless now, don't they? The hero who had vowed to protect his friends, and the planet he so dearly loved, is now on his deathbed. I'll bet you never fathomed the idea of dying by someone else's hand, did you?"

Sonic remained quiet, repulsed by the vulgar scent escaping Galaxy's mouth. "Despite the negative symptoms of this new form...I think it's come in rather useful. The sheer irony of this battle...to think darkness would consume the light so easily. Yet...it's commonly believed even the smallest amount of light can break through the darkness. I suppose this is an exception, isn't it Sonic?"

The blue hero fought against Galaxy's vice-like grip that pinned him to the ground, but to no avail. In response, Galaxy simply laughed. "But I guess if you look at the metaphor from another angle...I'm the light, and you're the darkness. Strange how we've swapped roles."

No, it could hardly be described as that. It was the mad cackle of a man who had lost his sanity. Sonic hated this man's laugh, more so than Doctor Eggman's.

"You talk a lot..." Sonic sputtered with a grin.

Galaxy froze at the sudden remark. His rage began to boil over, but Sonic took advantage of this and smashed his forehead into the cat's own. The Dusk agent screamed and fell back on the ground, allowing Sonic to jump to his feet and get some distance. Seething, Galaxy slowly stood back to his feet, blood dripping madly from his nose. Each droplet burst up into steam the second it came into contact with the cement around Galaxy.

Sonic narrowed his eyes, watching his opponents sanity continue to wither and inevitably disappear.

"It's time I kill you, Sonic!"

"I'd like to see you try!"

"You haven't seen anything...I haven't even used the powers of these artifacts. Hmm...now, I wonder which one would be best to start out with?" Galaxy pondered, stalking closer to Sonic. The man began to hover in the sky, above the crater he had formerly been in.

Fire began to seep away from the crimson orb, slowly cloaking Galaxy in a veil of flame. A small cackle escaped the man, and then in a flash of blinding light he raced towards Sonic. The Golden Warrior grunted and lurched his body back to avoid a flaming fist to his face. Embers flickered up around the duo as their fists collided with one another, but, Galaxy quickly unleashed a devastating burst of flame from his mouth. The jet of fire erupted past Sonic and consumed more than three blocks of the city, turning it all to ash.

A golden orb descended into the now barren section of the city, and from it Sonic appeared unscathed. However, Galaxy had already planned for a counter attack and activated the power of another Twilight Key. This time, the yellowish-gold Key activated.

Bolts of black electricity danced across Galaxy's wrist, and suddenly Sonic felt his body slow down just as he attempted to jolt into the sky to attack. Hovering quietly down to meet his opponent, Galaxy watched as the blue hero stared up into the air. The super-powered hedgehog moved away in slow motion, like his body had gained more mass than the planet itself. While the artifact that allowed the Dusk agent to control time remained in use, another sprung to life.

Another cloak of flame burst to life around the cat, then with a mighty scream he swept his hand in front of Sonic, creating a ball of magma. In the blink of an eye, the ball launched forward into Sonic carrying him far into the distance where the orb exploded into a burst of flame and heat.

"The powers to stop time and summon the fire of the underworld itself..." Galaxy mumbled to himself. His dark eyes quickly jumped to Sonic climbing out of a pile of rubble and destruction. "I haven't even begun yet, hedgehog. I was just warming up to my new power...heheheheh!"

"He's definitely not going to be easy to deal with..." Sonic muttered to himself while wiping away the blood dripping from his mouth. "But...I have to try, I guess. There's got to be a weakness...and something tells me it's linked to the power he's getting from those weird artifacts. Ugh."

In a burst of light, a fiery golden aura stormed to life around Sonic. His quills kinked upwards from the sheer pressure of his Chaos Energy, and then without hesitation Sonic returned fire. His hands began glowing with a dazzling gold and blue power, while several screaming orbs of the same light formed around his body. Sonic roared and in his hand one of the spheres appeared. causing his gloves to smoke.

From above Galaxy watched with anticipation and interest, a counter attack already being formulated in his head. The gleaming ball of power cupped tightly in Sonic's hand seemed to howl in the quiet air, beginning to levitate the same rubble Sonic had climbed out of. Watching in awe, Galaxy fumbled desperately upon realizing the sheer power of the attack his opponent wielded. Suddenly the green artifact shone, allowing Galaxy to create an armour of diamond like his deceased comrade had been known for.

In a mad attempt to block Sonic's screaming path towards him, Galaxy activated a second power until his diamond armour was ready. A blue glow enveloped Galaxy, and around him a bubble had been created. But, Sonic was eager to finish this battle.

"_That attack is close-range...meaning if he gets close enough I can..-" _Galaxy paused mid-thought. His heart dropped to the pit of his stomach, and then he realized it.

Sonic roared and threw the orb in his hand, turning it into an bolt of screaming energy. In rapid succession, Sonic threw the remaining six orbs hovering around him, each ball of power turning into the same spear of ruination.

One Chaos charged bolt collided with Galaxy, and with it a vaporizing explosion wrapped around the man. A second spear collided, followed by a third, a fourth, and finally the remaining two. Wind swept across the city, leaving gouges and scars in the cement of the few remaining relics of the city's building's. The explosion died out, and within it remain nothing but the dust that Sonic assumed he had turned Galaxy into.

"Heh...I guess I can thank Shadow for that idea," Sonic commented to himself with a weak grin.

"I'm impressed you managed to destroy my diamond armour...let alone get past that reflective bubble I created. You're definitely something, you blue twerp."

Suddenly two walls of rock clamped shut around Sonic. Trees and vines burst through the ground at unfathomable speeds, wrapping and growing around the rock formation holding the blue warrior. Galaxy walked up to the base of the structure and smirked, fire once again forming on his body.

"You're no match for me. I've ascended to the point of a God." Galaxy chuckled, watching as the trees grew higher into the void. "Though I'll admit, that technique you used was rather dangerous. If I hadn't escaped through one of my warp holes, I could've been hurt. But...I think it's become evident how far above your power I am. Haven't I proven the gap between us by now?"

The rock formation began to quiver, sending chunks of debris down through the thick forest wrapped around. Galaxy watched in disbelief as a golden arrow burst free from the rock prison. Another burst of energy exploded out of the wall, and then a bigger eruption decimated a chunk of the trees and rock, setting Sonic free. Galaxy screamed in disbelief, hurtling dark orbs of energy at Sonic as fast as his arms could move.

Sonic lurched around each attack, narrowly escaping each and every one of them. One of Galaxy's attacks struck his make shift prison, and suddenly it was no more. Sonic looked back in absolute terror, then turned his sights back to find Galaxy, who was now hurtling towards him through the sky, a crystal javelin wrapped in fire smoking in his hand. The mentally destroyed feline hurled the weapon through the air as he closed in on Sonic. Crimson eyes flickered to watch the javelin fizzle out of existence, and in the blink of eye Galaxy was in front of him, a fist of fire drawn. Galaxy struck Sonic's jaw, sending him flipping back up into the sky, where he had teleported his weapon. Then in a blur the javelin shot down out of the sky, impaling Sonic.

Blood poured out across the city as his body smashed into a tower, sending it crumbling into the ground. Amidst the destruction and dust, Galaxy descended down to find the only man standing in his way pinned into the dirt, bleeding out. Sonic howled in pain, his body twisting and jerking against the weapon through his gut and back.

Galaxy kneeled beside the hedgehog, a sinister smile crawling over his lips.

"Are you finished prolonging the inevitable? Can't you see that I've won?" Galaxy howled in victory, his hands gripping Sonic's throat. "You've fallen, Sonic! I've proven that _nothing _can stop my revenge on this twisted planet! Now that I have you backed up into a corner...perhaps I'll move on to your friends. I'll be sure to kill the young fox and your girlfriend first...so you three aren't far apart when you meet in the afterlife."

Sonic's eyes grew wide and bloodshot in rage. His heart accelerated against his chest, until it felt like a herd of charging bulls. The hedgehog placed his hand on the weapon through his body, and ripped it out. Before Galaxy could react, Sonic had plunged the same weapon through Galaxy's gut. With a wild stare, Sonic over powered Galaxy to the ground, his body smoking with Chaos Energy.

"_**Don't you dare touch them.**_" Sonic seethed, two horns of white energy materializing on his forehead. His golden fur darkened, and then a black and purple aura jumped to life around his body.

A wicked and deranged smile found it's way onto Galaxy. His blood evaporated, and suddenly the feral energy seeping out of Sonic drained into Galaxy.

"So I see you can tap into the same power...interesting," the dark cat stated with a curious tone.

Galaxy snickered and dematerialized, only to reappear a hundred yards up above the city streets with Sonic in hand. Holding the bewildered hedgehog up by the throat, Galaxy suddenly spun around and threw the hero down into the wall of rock and wood, obliterating it all. To ensure the blue hero was actually dead, the Dusk agent raised his hands up, creating a smoking bomb of energy easily the size of the city itself.

Sonic groaned, his super form slowly fading away. Beside him, the seven Chaos Emeralds lay quietly at his side, yet he didn't feel any power coming from them. His green eyes switched over to the mad man preparing to blow up Station Square, and for the first time he felt powerless.

"I think I pushed the limits of the Emeralds..." Sonic muttered, slowly propping his battered body up. "Now what..."

His tired eyes scanned over the destructive ball of energy, despair beginning to set in.

"This is your last play, hedgehog."

Sonic squinted at the dark feline in the air, noticing his demonic appearance beginning to disappear. Then, the blue hero turned his attention to the growing size of Galaxy's attack, and finally something clicked.

"What'll you do if I manage to avoid that attack of yours?" Sonic taunted with a smirk.

Galaxy on the other hand wasn't so happy with his enemy's revelation.

"Don't even pretend that you have the ability to escape something of this size. Once this detonates, it'll vaporize everything right down to an atomic level. When I let this behemoth free, I'm going to send this desolate city back to Earth, and watch as the planet is turned to nothing! This attack signals the end of all that ever was!"

"But...you failed to mention that if you miss, you're entirely out of juice. Don't think I didn't notice that form of yours disappear. I think that's your last ditch effort, Galaxy. Have I really pushed you this far?" Sonic pressed further with his taunts, while in fact also buying himself time to figure a way out.

"You may be correct...but I've left no chance of escape. You end here!" Galaxy screamed with madness, and then hurtled the fuming bomb of energy down upon the city.

Watching the planet-sized attack descend upon the city, Sonic watched the tips of the tallest buildings beginning to turn into dust, and then into nothing. He could feel the overwhelming energy grow closer and closer, but yet he remained smiling. A ripped glove slid over top of one Chaos Emerald, causing it shine. From that single gem, a bolt of power darted into a second, and in the blink of an eye all seven emeralds were connected. Again, they started to glow with a powerful light, and Sonic morphed into his super form once more. The Chaos Emeralds rotated like a halo around his back, and in a flash of light he appeared beneath the doomsday attack by Galaxy. Sonic stared into the abyss of the bomb, and with little hesitation he placed a calm hand onto the edge.

The gigantic sphere quivered against Sonic, and then in a brilliant flash of light, it disappeared. No trace of it's existence remained. Sonic's hand smoked and fumed with sparkling energy. His quills slunk down, and once more his fur turned blue. His eyes reverted to green, yet a powerful golden aura remain around him.

"You end here, Galaxy! For all the lives you've taken...for the people you've ruined so that you could gain in your silly, little illusion. I can't let you live...this last attack...well, needless to say it's fuelled by all the souls you laid waste to. This last attack is to avenge the innocent...it's to avenge Charmy. Any last words?"

Galaxy remained quiet, his eyes wide in shock. His jaw hung open in absolute disbelief of the hero who had single handedly put a stop to his reign. Then, a fit of rage consumed him. The thought of dying; of failing when he was so close seemed to snap something inside of him. He wanted nothing more than to see the blood of Sonic. Nothing more than to see the life escape his eyes.

"My last words...?"

Sonic quirked an eyebrow, waiting.

"MY LAST WORDS?"

The blue hero gulped, fear setting back in.

"Fuck. You."

"Shi-"

Suddenly everything began to disintegrate. The buildings, cars, corpses, plant life. A storm of black particles began eating away at the outer limits of the city, slowly moving inwards to destroy everything. However, this became the least of Sonic's concerns. Turning his frightened gaze away from the destruction that had ensued, Sonic realized Galaxy had released Polaris from his body, and was now atop of the creature. Upon further inspection, Sonic noticed the seven pillars surrounding Galaxy, the powers of each Twilight Key seeping into his body, and down into Polaris.

The beast screeched loud, its gigantic maw opening wide in front of Sonic. A hurricane tore past Sonic from the beast's jaws spreading, causing him to duck his head in it's wake. Globs of energy began forming in the air before spiralling down and assimilating into one single mass between the teeth of the beast. Sonic watched for a few short seconds as the small mass of energy had become a threatening ball of power that would overshadow even the moon.

"I won't even grace you the opportunity for '_any last words'_!" Galaxy screamed, as a shell of diamond instantly found its way across him and Polaris. "I can't be stopped! I won't allow myself to fail!"

"This is getting a bit dragged out, don'tcha think?!" Sonic retorted amidst the chaos. Using the power of Chaos Control, Sonic appeared on the last standing skyscraper amongst Station Square's obliteration.

Sonic crouched down into a runners stance, and as the final attack left Polaris, Sonic jolted up into the sky in a beam of light. Shockwaves ripped apart his foothold, and soon he had turned into an arrow of blue. The blue hero howled in triumph, his hand reeled back and poised to grapple Galaxy's face.

Each force opposed one another at blinding speeds, and upon collision a sonic boom levelled out the city. A wave of gold and blue energy rippled across the dark orb. Each side fluctuated with such ferocity that it seemed the very fabric of space and time would be ripped apart. Sonic could feel his gloves being eaten away by the power he was up against. Then his hand ripped through the attack, piercing the orb like a spear of light. Polaris' attack exploded behind Sonic, giving him extra momentum to strike Galaxy with.

Galaxy watched wide eyed as Sonic came bolting through the sky faster than his heart could beat. Blood splattered across the top of Polaris' head, as Sonic's hand ripped through Galaxy's chest a split second before the maniacal cat had the chance to guard himself with another layer of diamond armour. Crimson dripped across the armour that had formed, revealing that the only spot that had been left open was Galaxy's heart.

Time stood still, and Sonic locked eyes with Galaxy.

The hero wore a look of justice and unyielding power. While, on the other hand, Galaxy had one of bitter defeat.

Polaris cried out, and at the same time Sonic ripped his hand free of his opponents chest cavity. Blood poured out onto the ground, and with it fell Galaxy into a pool of scarlet. Once more the beast screeched, then disappeared into seven beams of light. The light seeped into the seven Twilight Keys before turning them into dust. Together Sonic and Galaxy tumbled down from the sky and landed in the destruction their battle had caused. Suddenly, a blinding light expanded across the city, shrouding every living being in the area in a warm energy.

**To Be Continued**

"_The only way to truly hurt a man is to take away everything that he valued and degrade it and remind him of it every day of his life. But by doing this, you also create a monster. And you will regret ever harming that man because he will be your greatest horror." ~ Xanthos Itnemeles, Ex-GUN Special Ops Captain, 2004_


	52. Chapter 52: Shadows

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 52: Shadows**

**Location: Kingdom of Voxili – July 17th, 2008**

From the heavens above torrents of rain cascaded down from every direction, like a flood washing the sins of the world away. Along the crashing coast, the Kingdom of Voxili stood proud and unwavering, despite the chaotic storm ensuing around its quiet walls.

"It's ironic how a night like this is the night I have to part ways with you all," a gentle, though strong voice lamented. "Listen, brother, you can't tell mom and dad but...I won't be coming back after this mission."

Two figures stood quietly on a marble balcony, their striking similarities showing their blood relation. Elegant, navy blue fur wavered in the mind of the storm, and the older brother sighed, knowing full well the words that'd be coming from his little brothers mouth.

"What do you mean you aren't coming back? You have to!" the younger one cried out angrily, his fists balling up almost instantly.

"Galaxy, you couldn't possibly understand it right now. You need to keep this a secret. They can't know I left like this."

Tears began to stream down the younger brothers face, his eyes displaying a wave of hurt and contempt. Suddenly Galaxy stepped forward, shoving his older brother back in a fit of rage.

"If I don't understand, then why won't you tell me what's happening!?" he shouted, fear and uncertainty clear in his voice now. Sure he was angry...but he didn't want to lose his brother.

The older sibling took a step back, and sighed once again then rested his hand on his siblings head. With a gentle tug, Galaxy found his forehead pressed against his brothers, their eyes locked onto one another. Violet orbs met crimson, and each ideal behind them seemed to clash as well.

"An event unlike any other is coming. We're going to witness the end of an age and the rebirth of the world as we know it. And I'll tell you this much...our family is destroying the odds of that happen. When I'm done...there won't be a hierarchy. We'll be equal with the power I'm going to get."

"You'll come back though...eventually...right?" Galaxy murmured.

Staring deep into his little brothers soul, the elder sibling grinned. Shocked by his brothers unusual display of happiness, Galaxy grew wide eyed.

"Don't worry," the older brother reassured smoothly. "You'll know when I'm back."

**July 20th, 2008**

The sun gleamed high above the kingdom in the sky, providing the brilliant city with a wonderful autumn day. However, the circumstances that surrounded such a beautiful day were less than spectacular. Weeping and heavy sobs were heard all throughout the household, causing the servants within the mansion who hadn't known the nights events to scurry to the foyer. The Queen of Voxili rushed through the estate, her tear stained make up and eyes another clear sign something was wrong. Galaxy peered out of his room after glancing at his clock tiredly. Noticing it was only a couple minutes past seven in the morning, he was curious what all the commotion was. It was a weekend after all!

"Mother...what's going on?" Galaxy called from the top of the golden staircase connecting the upper and lower level of the estate. "Why is everyone crying? What happened?"

"Don't you dare come down here!" She screamed through her sobs.

Of course, he wasn't going to just sit upstairs and wait while everyone seemed to be freaking out...Galaxy wasn't the type of person to sit around when he was curious. Annoyed, the young cat scurried down the stairs, and despite the resistance from their families security guards, Galaxy broke through into the main courtyard.

There he found his older brothers body hanging from the balcony, with his head skewered onto a spear held by the statue of their grandfather.

His heart lurched, and he fell to the ground in an instant.

He was numb.

"_He said he wouldn't be coming back...but I never imagined this is what he meant..."_

Behind him, his mother rushed and consumed him in a tight embrace weeping into his neck, doing her best to console her son. King Darius slowly walked up to his family, and kneeled down before them to hold them in his arms trying to keep his family from falling apart.

"Hex was killed last night Galaxy..." he whispered quietly.

"Who...who could've done something like..that..." came his strained his response.

"It was someone he was once affiliated with. They betrayed him.."

"But...how did you find out...?"

"That would be because of myself," a gruff voice replied, followed by a gloved hand extending into Galaxy's view.

Looking up, the young cat stared at the muscular and unusually tall koala bear in front of him. His ocean blue eyes saddened and broken from the events.

"Who are you?" he asked the man quietly.

"The name's Xanthos. I was your brothers partner when our mission went south...I just barely escaped thanks to the courage your big bro displayed. He wanted me to give you this."

Staring at the hand of the strange man, he found his brothers necklace resting in his palm. Slowly the young cat grasped it and slung it around his neck, tears dripping past his eyes. Never had his brother failed before. Yet this stunning realization was being forced upon him, when the dead man hanging in front of him had promised him not even two day ago that he'd return. He waited so long to see the fruits of his older brothers mission, yet this was his reward.

"How could you just sit and...watch him die..." Galaxy stammered through his sobs.

Setting a gentle hand on the young boy, Xanthos sighed. He was at a loss of words, and had no idea where to begin with an explanation satisfactory to a boy who just lost his hero.

"He and I...we were both GUN Black Ops agents. We worked under the order of a man named Cervantes, and he was the one pulling the strings behind our group. And as it turns out, his faction went rogue months ago, and somehow we had failed to notice until June. Your brother and I were in the process of bringing his entire plan to light. He's researching something big, something I won't get into detail about. We did manage to slow the production down...but he was one step ahead of us."

"...That's not fair. How can they get away with this?!" Galaxy screamed, breaking through his parents embrace to tackle the man. A blade of black energy quickly engulfed his wrist, and in the blink of an eye he had it pressed to Xanthos' throat. "How come you let them kill him!?"

Xanthos' eyes slammed shut with regret, and quickly shoved the kid off of him. "It wasn't in my control kid. I know it hurts...But he won't go unavenged. I promise."

"No...he won't..." Galaxy murmured. "_And I'll be the one to see through that vengeance. That military will fall...and I'l crush the skull of every soldier who went against my brother."_

**Location: Ruined Station Square, January 2016**

Rubble and loose debris from the battle that had ensued for nearly a day fell and clattered into a massive hole in the earth. Steam rose up across the entire city, and the apocalyptic storm clouds from before dissipated into nothingness, leaving behind a gentle mist of rain in its wake. However, the sun had begun to set into the horizon, its light beaming across the land in a gentle glow. Within a deep crater formed from the hellish battle, two bodies lay battered and broken within. Their chests rose up, and fell in an almost poetic way. Their exhales complimenting each others inhales, and their heart beats drumming against their chests.

"So...do you give up yet..?" Sonic remarked quietly, his voice hoarse and strained.

Awestruck and bewildered, Galaxy painfully craned his neck over to look at his opponent. The one man who managed to stand in his way and destroy everything he worked for. How was he able to do it with such ease?

"...You..." the pain present in his body suddenly sparked to life. His nerves became consumed with a white hot agony that he had never experienced, yet he stared blankly at the hedgehog beginning to stand up before his paralyzed body. "How did you ... who are you?" Galaxy muttered.

Sonic grunted in pain, blood spilling from the countless wounds across his body and then slumped over beside his former enemy.

"I get that a lot, and I never quite know what to tell the person who asks," Sonic explained with an oddly quiet voice. "Maybe it's because I've never quite seen myself as this amazing person, or hero, that everyone seems to label me as. Because...I'll level with ya'...I feel like I do more bad than good some days. I am what I am, I suppose. We all have our demons...don't we? I'm just ...Sonic. Nothing abnormal about me."

Lifeless violet eyes scanned over the weakened speedster, trying to find any fallacy in Sonic's words. Any sign of deception in his explanation...but Galaxy just couldn't find the evil he so expected to see in everyone. Where he expected to find darkness, there was a beacon of light shining through from Sonic.

"There's something about you I can't place. I wonder if maybe I would have chosen a different path of retribution for my brother...things would have ended in a different way. It's too late to ponder in the unknown now, though...kill me. You've won, Sonic."

With his eyes shut, Galaxy suddenly felt his body being lifted up, and then noticed rather than dealing the finishing blow, Sonic had helped him to his feet. Looking over at the blue hero, he noticed an irreplaceable smile.

"_You never did come back brother, but I'm starting to wonder if maybe our family wasn't meant to lead the new age...I thought maybe no one was fit to save this world...but maybe I was wrong?" _

"What good would killing you do? As angry as I was with you...ending a life won't make a change. I've done that already." Sonic commented, his conviction shining through his words like a ray of light.

"You don't understand though. If you don't kill me, it won't be long before I'm killed by my...comrades. I want to die by your hands," Galaxy murmured, tugging free from Sonic's grasp. The battered cat grunted and fell to his knees, coughing up a mouthful of black sludge and blood. "I'm already dead, hedgehog. I've disobeyed my orders...he's already sent someone to come finish me off and retrieve my body. If you don't kill me...they will."

"That's crazy...you can choose to li-"

A howl of wind screamed through the barren wasteland that had become Station Square. What remained of the buildings had now been destroyed in a single burst of wind, turning the offices and skyscrapers still standing into mountains of rubble. Blood splashed across the cracked cement, and washed Sonic's blue fur in a sick crimson. The blue hero stared into the eyes of his former enemy, watching as the light seeped out of them. Suddenly Galaxy's body jerked forward, his throat split open, and his head fell from his shoulders.

With the chirp of electricity, and the thump of Galaxy's body on the ground into his own blood, Sonic turned to look up at what had dealt the final blow with disgusted and horrified eyes.

Standing with blood on his face, was the jackal he had met with Knuckles. With the lighting available, and nothing to obscure his view of the man...the shadows of Sonic's past came rushing back. He knew this man, and he knew that his mind was about to snap with rage.

"My...that battle sure took a toll on this little city..." Havoc stated with a brief whistle. "Hard to believe you were the one who caused half this damage! Don't get me wrong, I knew you had potential...but you definitely surprised me with that one. Good job."

"Who are you?"

Quirking a brow at the blue hero, the jackal smirked playfully and walked towards Sonic with his arms folded behind his head.

"I was wondering how long it would take for you to remember me. Clearly you've put two and two together now...right? I mean you wouldn't have asked if you didn't have a hunch as to where you know me from. Do you remember Xanthos, our mentor, as well I wonder?" Havoc taunted sinisterly, now standing in front of Sonic. "And tell me...how's Uncle Charles?"

"...It can't be. GUN told Uncle Chuck n' I you two died...you're messing with my head..." Sonic muttered, holding his head in confusion.

"I have no reason to lie, now do I? Anyway...it'll be interesting how things piece together now...since you know who I am. But for now, I'm here to take Galaxy's body back to the Leader. Don't worry, though, we'll meet again when the time is right. This is just the beginning you know, so don't count your winnings just yet, alright?"

With a quick salute, Havoc grappled the dead body of his former associate, and walked past Sonic towards a vortex that had spun to life. The blue hero turned to watch as the two Dusk agents disappeared through, catching only the parting words of his long lost friend.

"Ciao!"

**To Be Continued**


	53. Chapter 53: Roses for the Dead

**Violet Dreams**

**Part II**

**Chapter 53: Roses for the Dead**

Green eyes stared in awe at the portal in front of him, watching as it spun inwards on itself and then disappeared. Glistening embers of energy fizzled off into the air, then burst into nothing in front of Sonic, leaving him to absorb and digest the events that had unfolded.

His chest rose and fell with each small breath he took to calm his shaking hands. Not even thirty seconds ago he felt happy. He had a sense of closure.

But now...

This wasn't how it was all supposed to end. Another soul wasn't meant to be lost because of him, yet here he was with the blood of another man on his hands. The idea of death had begun to feel natural, like it were nothing but an ant being crushed. He felt numb to it.

Tears slowly collected at his eyes, and as they slid past his cheeks he collapsed to the cement amidst the puddle of crimson. Suddenly the sky began to let loose a blanket of puffy, white and pure snow over the city. It was like a cloak of purity being granted from the angels.

Sonic stared quietly at the concrete, the entire world becoming mute.

"I think I found him guys," a voice echoed amidst the rainfall, followed by a group of footsteps. "Hey, Sonic! Are you okay?"

The blue hero turned to gaze at his friends, who had now surrounded him. One by one he went over their faces, trying to bring himself back to reality.

"_...Tails? Amy?" _

With a few blinks, the shake of his head and a pained grunt Sonic found himself ready to stand and face the ones who had always been there for him. Streams of tears cascaded down his peach muzzle like waterfalls. Exchanging confused and scared looks, the two heroes each moved around Sonic as he broke down amidst their embraces.

"No one else was supposed to die..." Sonic muttered, giving the group reassurance to part from their comrade. "Galaxy...wasn't such a bad person in the end. I've realized now...that...everyone has their own means to peace. We all want it, right? I should have been able to save him."

"Sonic..what happened?" Amy asked with a look of worry and sorrow, her heart aching for the one that she loved.

A broken yet gentle gaze fell on the pink hedgehog, and once more his lip quivered in terror and guilt. "I met someone I never would have thought I'd see again. Long ago...we were best friends, Havoc and I. I never put two and two together until I saw him. But...he's different now. I was helping Galaxy, I was going to make sure he lived! Never again do I want to take another life like I did Eggman...but, I failed. I couldn't stop my own inner conflict during my battle with Doctor Robotnik, and his blood is on my hands. Now...I chose too late to take the approach of mercy with Galaxy...and he's gone."

"Sometimes a death is necessary to keep the world in order," a voice spoke up from behind the group of friends, both gruff yet calm. "It's a vicious cycle that we're stuck with, regardless of how we perceive it."

Turning around, Sonic watched as Shadow walked up to him. Bandages had already been wrapped around the many wounds inflicted on his body, though the intense bleeding still managed to escape the white cloth.

"But...not everyone deserves to die!" Tails replied, earning an agreeing nod from Amy.

"Tails is right...when someone is truly trying to redeem themselves for their misdeeds...shouldn't they be given a second chance?" Amy added.

"The lives of others aren't in our control. One death can mean the safety of millions, and when you have to decide whether to preserve the innocent – consisting of mothers and children – or one single man with a set of deranged beliefs...that's when ones sense of justice, and even sanity, could be doubted. You're what the world considers a hero, faker. With a title like that, you're bound to end up with a little blood on your hands."

"I don't believe it should be that way, Shadow," the blue hero remarked painfully. "Why do people have to lose their lives when they're searching for mercy?"

"Karma's a bitch, isn't it?" the dark hedgehog retorted quickly, with a hint of anger lining his voice. "Lives are lost for reasons that we may never know. I deal with wondering why the innocent are lost every day. And don't you for a second think I wouldn't change it if I could!"

Grimacing Sonic stepped back in surrender once he realized where his comrade was coming from, remembering the painful loss that Shadow had to endure.

Sensing the sudden tension amidst the twin hedgehogs, Tails jumped between them trying to draw the conversation in a new direction before hell broke loose for the second time that day.

"Listen, why don't we head back to meet up with the others? I just spoke with Mighty, and he said he found someone on his way back that needs some medical attention. And by the looks of it, you do too, Sonic."

With a gentle nod, Sonic stared back at the blood staining the concrete, doing his best to rip the gruesome image from his head. Almost reluctantly, the four heroes made their way back to the rest of their allies, apart of them all thankful that the battle was over.

**Unknown Location – January 10th, 2016**

The tap, tap, tap of boots stepping along pristine, marble floors echoed and bounced around the elegant and shimmering hallway. On either side, spaced about ten feet apart, furiously burning torches lit the way towards a gaping doorway at the end of the corridor. It was a place most members of Dusk dare not go, for they knew it would result in death if they weren't summoned. It was a place of absolute fear and paranoia. But, one man strode towards it with such confidence one might think he owned the place, yet it was evident he didn't. Havoc whistled a cheery tune, dragging the bloodied and cold corpse of Galaxy behind him, leaving behind a thick trail of blood down the hall, which he paid no mind to. One of the common soldiers would see to it that it'd get clean.

Kicking open one of the propped open wooden doors, Havoc heaved the dead body into the center of the small circular room. Sitting at the far wall, a device lit up within the darkness, causing an array of torches to light up along the circumference of the chamber. The meagre lighting allowed Havoc to see the status of his leader, whom was suspended in a black cube. Even though the prison, or container, was made of a solid material, the exterior seemed to churn and move as though it were liquid.

"Still asleep, I see," Havoc murmured to himself, as he walked up to the crystalline door on the front face of the cube like container. "I brought Galaxy back, he went rogue and tried to kill Sonic instead of ensuring phase 1 of your plan was completed. I killed him, though...my bad."

Suddenly three rings of white energy lit up on the door panel. The outer ring had six flames sprouting off it, while the middle ring had three, and the smallest bearing an "x" through it. Within, Havoc could see a blackened coffin, held down by chains of fire. And even though the heat was so overwhelming- so intense - he was able to stand close enough to see the vague outline of a figure within it, in a deep slumber.

"I know you said not to interact with any of them until our phase was in action...but I had to see him. We were best friends, you know. He's really something now, and he's definitely going to give us a run for our money. I can see how he killed Doctor Robotnik," Havoc babbled, a smile present on his face from meeting his long lost friend. "Though, I'm wondering something...you said you'd make yourself known to all of us here within Dusk. I know you didn't mean in this form...in this cube...so, what did you mean? How are we to finish our plan if you're always sleepin'? Ugh. Days like this I wish you were a helluva lot more talkative."

With a sigh, Havoc turned back to Galaxy's dead body and begun dragging him over to the otherworldly coffin. With a deep breath, the jackal sat down and stared back into the cube. "I don't think the Twilight Key is inside him anymore...I'm pretty sure Sonic destroyed them when he sent Polaris packing."

Suddenly a panel in the floor descended, carrying the lifeless body of the former royal soldier down into the catacombs of whatever lie beneath the solitary chamber. As soon as the body had left, a sheet of light expanded across the missing floor panel, replacing it like it was never gone.

"Well, it's been a nice chat. I guess it's time to go recruit Phase 2 now...are you sure the ones on your list are suitable? I mean...they look pretty mediocre," Havoc remarked, skeptically looking down at the list in his hand.

**Central City, United Federations – January 27th, 2016**

A chorus of church bells, voices and sobs reverberated off the marble walls of the church. High above the chapel hung an elegant chandelier with intricate carvings of heaven and angels all across it. Below it, a stream of people moved in and out of the building, paying their respects to the lives lost in the catastrophe that had occurred just over three weeks ago.

Vector, Espio and Mighty stood solemnly in a room off the main hall, where a large portrait of their dear friend Charmy had been hung, and below it a casket filled to the brim with flowers. The trio stood quietly, each consumed with memories, regrets and thoughts of the one they lost. One by one, more of the heroes occupied the room, along with a new face.

A gentle touch grazed over Mighty's shoulder, and without even looking the young traveler wrapped his arm around the waist of Crush, pulling her in close to his body. Quiet sobs escaped the armadillo, forcing him to lean his head on the woman beside him. Without missing a beat, both Vector and Espio pulled the two into an embrace, trying to comfort not only Mighty, but themselves as well.

"He's in a better place now, you know," Knuckles commented, walking up behind them as they left their group hug.

The large hand of the Emerald Guardian rested on Vector's shoulder briefly, trying to console the croc. Happily accepting the gesture and the kind words, Vector nodded with a half smile. He knew that Knuckles was right, and that Charmy would be in a much happier place, free of all the torment of their own world.

"You're right, Knux. Maybe one day we'll see him again, yknow? The worst part of it all is not having been able to say goodbye," Vector said, earning an agreeing nod from both Mighty and Espio.

"He'll always be in our hearts," Sonic spoke up from the doorway, bringing them to turn around and face the blue hero. "His death...it wasn't in vain. In a way, as much as I hate to think about it, killing Galaxy avenged Charmy. He's looking down on us, and he's protecting us all now. Protecting you three, because I know the you were all closest and knew him better than any of us."

"Thanks, Sonic," Mighty smiled. "How are you doing? You know...with everything that happened?"

"I'm managing. There's a lot of emotions I need to work through yet, but I'm getting there," Sonic admitted, then looked towards the new addition to their make shift family – Crush. "So...I don't have to worry about any vengeance schemes from ya, do I?"

Crush chuckled with amusement, and winked. "No worries, Mighty really knocked some sense into me...honestly, he saved my life. He didn't give up on me, even when I gave up on myself."

"Well, you're one of us now. No one will be giving up on your anytime soon!" Vector remarked with a wide grin, earning a rare smile from Espio as well from the unusual cheer.

"I'm heading outside for some fresh air, I'll come back when the memorial starts, alright?" the blue hero informed, and with a hug to each of the Chaotix the hedgehog left for the front of the church.

His feet crunched into the snow, leaving behind footprints away from the doors of the chapel. The blue hero turned his emerald green eyes up into the sky, watching as the small puffs of white fluttered to the ground, blanketing the city in a white veil. Letting out a deep sigh, Sonic closed his eyes and focused on the second entity within him, eager to speak with the malicious beast that had been locked away within his psyche; especially after the precarious deal he had made.

"_So...I thought you wanted to kill me?" _Sonic thought, communicating towards the beast sealed away inside him.

"_I changed my mind...as much as I hate being locked up inside such a weak and fragile thing as yourself," _the beast paused for a moment, pondering its words._ "You've amused me, boy. I'd like to see what you do once more of them come. It won't be long."_

"_I know it won't. But I'm prepared."_

Suddenly another set of footsteps broke Sonic free from his head, forcing him to look at the two new faces that had arrived. The blue hero watched as both Shadow and Rouge walked towards him. For some reason, he felt a strange air around Shadow, but he wasn't sure for what reason...it bothered him. It made his gut stir.

"What's up, sugar?" Rouge greeted with a gentle wave. "How's everyone?"

"The Chaotix are grieving...but I think they'll be alright," Sonic replied casually, though his eyes seemed to drift towards the strange vibes radiating from Shadow. "Thought you two weren't going to make it?"

"Well, Shadow had wanted to head up to ARK as soon as we had recovered from that whole situation back in Station Square...but I coaxed him into dropping by to pay his respects. You know he's not the social type!" Rouge remarked with a sly grin, winking at her dark furred comrade.

"The ARK? What's up there, Shadow?" Sonic asked, a suspicious curiosity building up within him. "Didn't GUN lock it down after that whole fiasco with Gerald and the Biolizzard?"

"Some research, that's all. I've decided to part ways with GUN after I'd brought the President back to meet with Shrike. It shouldn't be news to you that he's up to something after he locked us up," explained Shadow, though the blue hero could tell he was withholding details.

"Did you take the same route, Rouge?" Sonic asked, turning his gaze over to the ivory bat, allowing Shadow to walk inside.

"Now, now, you know I'm a spy!" She laughed. "Shadow explained everything to me, I'm serving as an inside agent for him. I mean, he won't be able to get past GUN security on the ARK without some special authorization! Shrike sent me on a _secret _mission to retrieve and capture Shadow, which also promoted me to his right hand man...or woman, rather! Giving me a lot of freedom and special treatment. I know that man is up to something – he should have never been elected Supreme General after General Towers." Rouge explained, easing Sonic's mind a bit.

"Well, listen, don't let him do anything stupid, alright?" Sonic joked, smirking gently.

"There's a reason he and I are a team, sugar," Rouge replied reassuringly. "I'm heading in now, are you coming?"

"...about that," Sonic said with a hint of regret. "I'm heading out for a bit. I need to go visit my home, and do some soul searching. I met a shadow of my past after the battle with Galaxy, and I don't think I'm prepared for whatever Dusk has planned next, unless I come to terms with a lot of my own demons. And the first place to do that is the island I was born on."

Looking at the blue blur with a look of understanding, Rouge pulled the blue blur into a tight hug. After she had stepped back again, she eyed him with a hint of uncertainty. "You told Amy this time, right? You know how much she hates it when you run off like this."

"Of course."

"Good. Now...go do whatever you need to. We'll all be here waiting when you get back."

Nodding, Sonic dashed past the ivory bat but quickly slid to a stop in the snow, his scarf wrapped around his neck. Green eyes darted back to all his friends within the church, and then fell on Rouge as she stood atop of the staircase to wave at him. Waving his arm quickly, Sonic turned back around and sprinted off through the city, heading towards the one place where everything began. Where his life had taken shape, and where he had found his purpose.

It was time for him to face the shadows of his past.

**FIN ~**


End file.
